Blake Lively Sues For Sexual Harassment, Justin Baldoni Hits Back

Blake Lively has sought legal action against her It Ends with Us costar and director Justin Baldoni. Lively has made allegations of sexual harassment, among other claims. However, Baldoni’s team has also fought back against the allegations.

Blake Lively’s Suit Claims A Hostile Work Environment Led To A Meeting

Lively is arguably best known for playing Serena van der Woodsen in the Gossip Girl series. She also notably appeared in the 2024 romantic drama, It Ends with Us, playing the character Lily Bloom.

Baldoni has worked as an actor, making his debut in 2004 on The Young and the Restless. In 2019, he directed and produced the film, Five Feet Apart, which was followed up with the film Clouds.

Justin Baldoni speaking about 'It Ends With Us' on TODAY — Justin Baldoni – YouTube

Baldoni served as a director and producer on It Ends with Us, which was based on the Colleen Hoover novel of the same name. Notably, he also starred as Ryle Kincaid in the project, opposite Lively.

According to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ, it is alleged that things got so bad during filming that a meeting was called to address the hostile work environment. Reportedly, Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, was in attendance.

According to the suit, demands included no further nude videos and images being sent to Lively, no further mentions of Baldoni’s reported, “pornography addiction” or discussions about sexual conquests, or discussions about genitalia. Other demands included no more inquiries concerning Lively’s weight or her late father.

As the publication noted, some demands also concerned what would go into the final film. These demands included “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by [Blake Lively] outside the scope of the script [Blake Lively] approved when signing onto the project.”

A Legal Representative For Justin Baldoni Told A Different Story

Reportedly, the demands were approved by the studio. However, there was also further conflict on how the film would be marketed.

Lively wanted a more upbeat pitch about Lily’s resilience. On the other hand, Baldoni wanted the focus to be on domestic violence.

Lively also claimed there were attempts from Baldoni and company to ruin her reputation. Alleged texts from Baldoni’s publicist were included in the suit.

They reportedly read that Baldoni “wants to feel like [Ms. Lively] can be buried, and “We can’t write we will destroy her.” It was also claimed that the campaign caused Lively and her family “severe emotional distress.”

For his part, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, spoke out about the claims. It was claimed that the campaign was actually conducted to “fix her negative reputation.” According to Freedman, the claims were said to be “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt.”

Freedman also spoke poorly of Lively’s behavior on set. She was accused of “threatening to not [show] up to set, [and] threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release.”

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