Following Blake Lively's recent filing of her explosive lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, here's an in-depth analysis of the claims the actress has put forward against her former co-star.
As widely reported, the 37-year-old actress has taken legal against her It Ends With Us co-star, alleging sexual harassment.
Lively's lawsuit comes months after the controversy surrounding the release of the Collen Hoover film adaptation, in which she stars as 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 complaint was filed against not only the 40-year-old actor but also his production company, Wayfarer Studios, its co-founder Steve Sarowitz, and the film’s lead producer, Jamey Heath.
It was also filed against Jed Wallace, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel, each of whom is named in the alleged effort to damage Lively's reputation.
Speaking to The New York Times, the actress said she hopes her 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".
Meanwhile, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's lawyer, hit back and told PEOPLE that the actress' lawsuit was to "fix her negative reputation," and blasted her allegations as "false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt".
The attorney added that Lively caused problems on the set of the film, which is currently streaming, "threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release".
The It Ends With Us press tour was tainted by rumors of a rift between Lively and Baldoni, fueled by the co-stars' lack of interactions at the premieres and press tour.
However, the Gossip Girl star's lawsuit reveals that her concerns about Baldoni predated filming, which began in May 2023.
Baldoni added 'Gratuitous sexual content' to the script after Lively signed on.According to a lengthy report from PEOPLE, the Jane The Virgin actor and the film producer inserted "improvised gratuitous sexual content and/or scenes involving nudity" into the film "in highly unsettling ways".
These additions are said to have included a scene that required Lively to "orgasm on-camera" and one which saw their characters "climax simultaneously during intercourse".
It has been reported that Baldoni ultimately removed the scenes from the movie after Lively “objected".
In addition to this, the complaint states that the actor “intrusively asked” Lively whether she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, also “climax simultaneously during intercourse" - a question that the actress deemed invasive and declined to discuss with him.
Lively's lawsuit alleges that Baldoni - who was the director of the film - improvised intimate scenes without prior discussion or the presence of an intimacy coordinator.
The filing outlines several instances of inappropriate behavior, including an incident where Baldoni allegedly "discreetly bit and sucked on Ms. Lively’s lower lip" during one scene, and another where he leaned forward and "slowly dragged his lips from [Lively's] ear and down her neck," before whispering "It smells so good" along her neck.
Allegations of a "lack of boundaries" shown by Baldoni and HeathThe complaint claims that Baldoni and Heath displayed a "shocking lack of boundaries" by sharing details of their "own personal sexual experiences" and "previous pornography addiction" while on set.
The pair tried to pressure Lively to "simulate full nudity," during a birth scene despite "no mention of nudity for this scene in the script, her contract, or in previous creative discussions," per the lawsuit.
It's also been alleged that Heath violated the actress' privacy by showing her and her assistant a graphic video of his wife giving birth without their consent. He, along with Baldoni, are also accused of repeatedly entering Lively's trailer unannounced while she was undressed or “vulnerable” - “including when she was breastfeeding her infant child".
Furthermore, Lively claimed that Baldoni shared details about his past sexual relationships - which she found “disrespectful and disturbing".
In one instance, the actor revealed that he was “sexually abused” by an ex-girlfriend before allegedly confessing to engaging in sexual conduct without consent in a past relationship.
“Did I always ask for consent? No. Did I always listen when they said no? No,” he allegedly said during the car ride, which ended with the actress' driver saying he did not want her to be left alone with the director.
In one alleged incident, Baldoni "pressured” Lively to take off her coat to reveal her onesie, which she had been partly unzipped to reveal her bra, in a “packed” setting, and reportedly told her: “'I think you look sexy’ in a tone that made her feel ogled and exposed.”
He also “went out of his way to message criticisms of her age and weight,” including voicing concerns that the actress “looked old and unattractive based on paparazzi photos from the set".
It's also been claimed that Baldoni “routinely degraded” Lively by “finding back-channel ways of criticizing her body and weight,” such as privately contacting her personal trainer, less than four months after she gave birth to her fourth child. The lawsuit claims that he insinuated that he “wanted her to lose weight in two weeks".
In addition to this, Lively has accused Baldoni of saying that he could "speak to the dead" on several occasions, which included her recently deceased father Ernie Lively.
During a filming hiatus caused by the writers' strike, Lively expressed her concerns about the hostile work environment in an "all hands" meeting held on January 4, which was attended by her husband Ryan Reynolds, Baldoni, and his Wayfarer studio.
The mom-of-four set several expectations for her co-star, which included "no more improvising of kissing” and “no more personal, physical touching of, or sexual comments by, Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath to be tolerated by [Blake Lively] and/or any of her employees, as well as any female cast or crew without their express consent".
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.”
Accusations of a smear campaign against LivelyLively alleged in the lawsuit that after the movie was released, Baldoni took part in what was described as a "social manipulation" campaign launched to tarnish her reputation, NBC News reported.
This was documented through emails and texts - reportedly obtained via subpoena - allegedly between the actor, his publicist, and his crisis management team.
The messages include a conversation between Nathan and Abel - which allegedly shows Abel telling Nathan that "he wants to feel like she can be buried" - as well as a text from the actor allegedly asking for only videos of him talking about domestic violence to be shared online.
In his statement, Baldoni's lawyer Freedman contended that representatives of the production company "did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity".
"What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals, he added.
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