Blake Lively's co-star Brandon Sklenar defends her amid Justin Baldoni 'It Ends with Us' claims

Blake Lively's other male "It Ends with Us" co-star is defending her amid a sexual harassment complaint against their co-star and director Justin Baldoni.

On Saturday, The New York Times released a report about Lively's bombshell complaint levied at Baldoni, which includes allegations ranging from ignoring past approval of consent and colluding to smear the "Gossip Girl" alum. But two days later, on Monday, Lively's co-star Brandon Sklenar took to his Instagram story to defend the actress.

"For the love of God read this," he wrote, tagging Lively with a red heart emoji. On Saturday, reports surfaced that Lively filed the sexual harassment complaint with the California Civil Rights Department as the first step before an official lawsuit.

'It Ends With Us' star Brandon Sklenar defends Blake Lively, Colleen Hoover amid backlash

The movie, based on the popular book by New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, follows a flower shop owner named Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively), who falls in love with a dashing neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) and reconnects with her stoic childhood sweetheart, Atlas Corrigan (Sklenar).

Feud rumors surfaced in August about the "It Ends with Us" cast versus Baldoni. Online sleuths noticed that Baldoni walked the red-carpet solo with his wife Emily at the Aug. 6 premiere in New York City. On the red carpet, Sklenar posed with other cast members, including Lively and the actress' fellow A-list husband Ryan Reynolds.

Fans also figured out that Hoover, Lively, Sklenar and co-star Jenny Slate all unfollowed Baldoni.

Brandon Sklenar previously called out online 'negativity' directed at Blake Lively 'disheartening'

In an August statement posted to Instagram, which is now pinned on his page, Sklenar previously defended Lively. He wrote on Aug. 20 that "what may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film," calling the "amount of negativity" online "disheartening."

"Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance and for women choosing a better life for themselves," Sklenar wrote on social media.

He continued: "Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about."

"Trust me when I tell you, there isn't a single person (involved) in the making of this film that was not aware of the responsibility we had in making this," Sklenar added. "A responsibility to all the women who have experienced generational trauma, domestic abuse or struggle with looking in the mirror and loving who they see."

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni feuded. Next came the smear campaign, she alleges.

He continued, telling his followers that "It Ends With Us" is "is meant to inspire. It's meant to validate and recognize. It's meant to instill hope. It's meant to build courage and help people feel less alone." He added that it's also meant to spread love and awareness, and it's not meant to "make the women the 'bad guy.'"

Contributing: Pam Avila, Edward Segarra

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blake Lively's 'It Ends with Us' co-star Brandon Sklenar defends her