Blake Lively returns to social media amid Justin Baldoni lawsuit and the California wildfires
Blake Lively returned to social media for the first time since filing a bombshell lawsuit filing against Justin Baldoni.
With five dangerous wildfires sweeping across several neighborhoods in Los Angeles, the Gossip Girl alum took to her Instagram story on January 9 to share resources provided by Mutual Aid LA for anyone impacted by the disaster.
In a second post on her story, she scrolled through a spreadsheet listing local shelters, animal rescues and food banks that are currently open for refuge and supplies.
While it’s not known if Lively has been directly affected by the fires, a number of Hollywood stars, including Adam Brody, Anna Faris, Billy Crystal, and Paris Hilton, have lost their homes since the flames sparked in the Santa Ana winds on January 7. As of Thursday, three of the five — Palisades, Eaton and Sunset — have yet to be contained.
Lively’s urgent message to her followers comes nearly three weeks after the 37-year-old filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star, Justin Baldoni, 40, alleging sexual harassment.
In the lawsuit, the A Simple Favor lead claimed Baldoni’s behavior on set caused her “severe emotional distress.”
The lawsuit also states that Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, Baldoni, and their respective lawyers all met amid filming for the movie to address her claims about the work environment.
Additionally, the lawsuit states that Lively had listed several requirements that needed to be met in order for her to continue working that were supposedly approved by Sony Pictures, the distributors of It Ends With Us.
These requirements included: “No more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father. No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project.”
Lively then claims in the lawsuit that Baldoni started a campaign to “destroy” her reputation after their meeting.
“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” Lively said in a statement sent to TMZ.
On December 22, The New York Times published an investigation that alleged Baldoni is responsible for orchestrating a PR campaign that would hopefully “bury” Lively.
As a result, the director is suing the outlet for $250 million, and his lawyers are allegedly considering filing a countersuit against Lively.