Blake Lively's co-stars have voiced their support for the actress after she filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.
The 37-year-old Gossip Girl star starred in the Colleen Hoover film adaptation, which centers around Lily Bloom, a woman who moves to a new city and falls in love with a man named Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) - who becomes abusive.
The movie's press tour was overshadowed by rumors of a feud between Lively and Baldoni, fueled by the leading stars' lack of interactions at the premieres.
However, Lively's lawsuit reveals that her concerns about the director predated filming, which began in May 2023.
She has accused him of several issues, including sexual harassment, adding "gratuitous" nudity and sex scenes in the film, criticizing her body and weight, and causing “severe emotional distress".
According to the complaint, a meeting was held to address the mother-of-four's demands regarding her involvement in the film. Her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was among those in attendance.
She set several expectations for Baldoni, which were: "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."
He was also allegedly asked to stop adding "sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL [Blake Lively] outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project".
Wayfarer approved of the actress' requests, stating: "Regarding your outlined requests, we find most of them not only reasonable but also essential for the benefit of all parties involved.”
The Age of Adaline star has also accused Baldoni - who has since been dropped by his agency, WME - of orchestrating a smear campaign to destroy Lively's reputation after filming had concluded.
The New York Times published a legal document containing alleged text messages exchanged between Baldoni, Jennifer Abel, of PR firm RWA Communications, and Melissa Nathan, of The Agency Group PR, which reportedly show the "multi-tiered" plan.
In his statement, Baldoni's lawyer Freedman argued that Wayfarer hired a crisis communications team because Lively allegedly threatened not to show up to set and film promotions.
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity,” he added, per NBC News.
In the wake of the revelations against Baldoni, Lively has received an outpouring of support from her friends in the film industry.
America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel, who starred in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with Lively - took to Instagram to issue a joint statement.
The cast of the 2005 coming-of-age comedy-drama penned that they “stand with” Lively “in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation”.
“Throughout the filming of It Ends With Us, we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice," they wrote.
"Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors’ stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding," they added.
Read the statement below:Ferrera, Tamblyn, and Bledel said that they are "struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated, and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment".
"We are inspired by our sister’s courage to stand up for herself and others,” they continued, before concluding with a call to look up the full complaint which was signed by the actresses.
The author of It Ends With Us, has also supported Lively amid the claims against Baldoni.
In a post to her Instagram stories, Hoover wrote: “@blakelively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt."
She also linked A New York Times article titled 'We Can Bury Anyone: Inside A Hollywood Smear Machine'.
The publication shared a statement from Lively after she filed a complaint, which read: “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.”
You can read everything the actress has sued Baldoni for in the bombshell lawsuit here.