Blake Lively’s Accusations Against Justin Baldoni Explained

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Months after a reported rift between It Ends With Us costars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, she sued him for sexual harassment.

In the lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, December 20, and obtained by Us Weekly after it was reported on by TMZ and The New York Times, Lively accused Baldoni of launching a “social manipulation” campaign against her to “destroy” her reputation.

Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, called Lively’s accusations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” in a statement to Us, claiming that Lively filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” about the film’s production.

Freedman further alleged that Lively made “multiple demands and threats” while filming It Ends With Us, including “threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”

Reps for Lively told Us Weekly in a statement regarding her lawsuit, “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.”

Weeks later on Tuesday, December 31, Baldoni was one of 10 plaintiffs who filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times following its reporting on costar Lively after she sued him for sexual harassment. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs, which also includes publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel as well as It Ends With Us producers James Heath and Steve Saraowitz, allege Lively pursued a “strategic and manipulative” smear campaign against Baldoni (rather than the other way around) and “cherry picked” communications while omitting key details.

A New York Times spokesperson told Us it is standing by its story and plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”

Lively’s attorneys told Us the lawsuit was based on an “obviously false premise.” Baldoni’s attorney continues to deny any wrongdoing on behalf of his client, describing The New York Times’ article a “vicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team” via a statement to Us.

That same day, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in a New York court which mirrored her earlier claims, which were filed in California.

Scroll down to see Lively’s accusations against Baldoni:

Adding Sex Scenes

Breaking Down Blake Lively’s Accusations About Justin Baldoni — Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Per the lawsuit, Lively expressed concerns about Baldoni at the beginning. Before they began filming It Ends With Us, she objected to sex scenes he wanted to add — which she considered gratuitous.

The lawsuit also requested that there be “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 alleged that Baldoni improvised unwanted kissing and discussed his sex life, including times when he may not have received consent.

“Mr. Baldoni improvised physical intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed, or discussed with Ms. Lively, with no intimacy coordinator involved,” the docs state. “For instance, Mr. Baldoni discreetly bit and sucked on Ms. Lively’s lower lip during a scene in which he improvised numerous kisses on each take. Mr. Baldoni insisted on shooting the full scene over and over again, well beyond what would have been required on an ordinary set, and without advance notice or consent.”

Another example of alleged attempts to add nudity to the script includes one of the final scenes of the movie when Lively’s character gives birth. “Mr. Baldoni insisted to Ms. Lively that women give birth naked, and that his wife had ‘ripped her clothes off’ during labor,” the docs read. “ He claimed it was ‘not normal’ for women to remain in their hospital gowns while giving birth. Ms. Lively disagreed, but felt forced into a compromise that she would be naked from below the chest down.”

Alleged Pornography Addiction and More

The lawsuit alleges that there was a meeting held in January to address some of Lively’s concerns about It Ends With Us’ production.

The meeting was attended by Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and some of her demands that were addressed 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.”

Lively claimed that producer Jamey Heath showed her a video of his wife naked and watched Lively in her trailer while she was topless and having body makeup removed — after she asked him to not look. Lively alleged that both Heath and Baldoni entered her makeup trailer while she was undressed, including when she was breastfeeding.

Per the lawsuit, Wayfarer agreed to the terms she sought and acknowledged that, “Although our perspective differs in many aspects, ensuring a safe environment for all is paramount.”

Lively allegedly told the people she worked with that the men’s behavior had improved by the Spring with the new protections.

Breaking Character

In the docs, Lively alleged that Baldoni broke character during a slow dance scene on the rooftop. “He leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good.’ None of this was remotely in character, or based on any dialogue in the script, and nothing needed to be said because, again, there was no sound — Mr. Baldoni was caressing Mr. Lively with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles. When Ms. Lively later objected to this behavior, Ms. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even attracted to you.’”

Body-Shaming

Lively accused Baldoni of body-shaming her on set. “Mr. Baldoni also routinely degraded Ms. Lively by finding back channel ways of criticizing her body and weight,” the docs claim. “A few weeks before filming began and less than four months after Ms. Lively had given birth to her fourth child, Ms. Lively was humiliated to learn that Mr. Baldoni secretly called her fitness trainer, without her knowledge or permission, and implied that he wanted her to lose weight in two weeks. Mr. Baldoni told the trainer that he had asked because he was concerned about having to pick Ms. Lively up in a scene for the movie, but there was no such scene.”

After Lively caught strep throat, Baldoni allegedly offered a “gift” to connect her with an expert to help combat the illness. “When Ms. Lively went to fill out the privacy forms, she saw the expert was not what Mr. Baldoni had represented her to be, but was instead a weight-loss specialist,” the docs allege.

‘Social Manipulation’ Campaign to ‘Destroy’ Her Reputation

Lively accused Baldoni of launching a “social manipulation” campaign against her to “destroy” her reputation.

In the lawsuit — which included “thousands of pages of text messages and emails” that Lively obtained through a subpoena — a publicist working with the studio and Baldoni allegedly wrote to a crisis management expert, “He wants to feel like she can be buried.”

“This plan went well beyond standard crisis PR,” the docs state, claiming Baldoni’s team proposed a concept called “‘astroturfing,’ which has been defined as ‘the practice of publishing opinions or comments on the internet, in the media, etc. that appear to come from ordinary members of the public but actually come from a particular company or political group.’”

Baldoni would “set the narrative for the social media campaign,” per the docs. One example cited was of an X thread about Hailey Bieber “that had accused another female celebrity of bullying women.” Baldoni wrote in the text, “This is what we would need.” Additionally, Baldoni also mentioned Taylor Swift in conversations with his crisis management team, and a scenario planning document from Baldoni’s side noted, “our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want.”

After “nearly all cast members chose to appear in public separately from Mr. Baldoni given his on-set behavior,” per the docs, he was allegedly “became concerned that the public would discover that “something is much bigger under the surface,” prompting him to change his own social media strategy too.

“After the Film’s premiere, Mr. Baldoni changed his Instagram profile, cancelled lighthearted social media posts, and instructed his team to look for survivors reactions and support — all in an effort to quickly shift his own public narrative to focus solely on survivors and domestic violence organizations,” the docs state, when his team noted that “this shift might be ‘too drastic too soon,” he didn’t care. The docs read: “Still, Mr. Baldoni insisted on a ‘Tik Tok strategy’ and that his promotional activities for the Film should seek to amplify what he described as ‘survivor content.’”

Allegedly Claimed He Spoke to Blake Lively’s Late Father

Lively’s lawsuit also alleged Baldoni had “engaged in other behaviors that were shocking and emotionally distressing” on the It Ends With Us set, including “[claims] he could speak to the dead, and on several occasions told [Lively] that he had spoken to her dead father.”

Lively’s father, Ernie Lively, died in June 2021. He was 74. The complaint further expressed that it was “off putting and violative” for Baldoni to allegedly “claim a personal relationship with [Lively’s] recently deceased father.”

Allegedly ‘Failed to Implement’ Proper COVID-19 Protocol

Lively alleged that Baldoni and Heath “failed to implement” proper protocol when there was a COVID-19 outbreak.

“Ms. Lively was told by another producer that because [Justin and Jamey’s production company] Wayfarer did not have insurance coverage for COVID, Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath deliberately withheld from Ms. Lively that she had been exposed to COVID,” her lawyers claimed in the paperwork. “Both Ms. Lively and her infant child contracted COVID from the outbreak.”

Lively “attempted to raise concerns” in a conversation with Baldoni and Heath. “When Ms. Lively expressed her upset that Mr. Heath and Mr. Baldoni had hidden the fact that she had been exposed to a COVID outbreak on set from which she and her infant contracted COVID,” the docs continued. “Instead of acknowledging responsibility and committing to safety moving forward, they expressed upset over production days missed and resulting costs.”

In her guidelines that needed to be “met without fail” for her to return to film, Lively made a request about COVID procedures. “If BL is exposed to COVID-19, she must be provided notice as soon as possible after Wayfarer or any producer or production executive becomes aware of such exposure,” the request read.

Alleged ‘Constant’ Hugs

Per the document, Baldoni and Heath were allegedly “constantly hugging and touching cast and crew” on set. “When Ms. Lively or others avoided this touching, Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath would retaliate by becoming irritated, cold, and uncollaborative,” the docs read. “The result was an unwelcoming and mercurial environment for Ms. Lively, her employees, and others on set.”

Allegedly Referring to People As ‘Sexy’

The lawsuit alleges that Baldoni would refer to women in the workplace as “sexy.”

“When they expressed discomfort, Mr. Baldoni would deflect or try to pass it off, which undermined Ms. Lively and others’ concerns,” the docs read. “For example, on one occasion that Ms. Lively observed, he told a female cast member that her leather pants looked ‘sexy’ when she arrived to the set. When she rebuffed his comment because she was uncomfortable, rather than apologizing, he brushed it off with ‘I can say that because my wife is here today.’ Ms. Lively felt embarrassed witnessing this kind of commentary, as did others.”

In one alleged incident, Lively wore a “low-cut dress to facilitate breast feeding, but had it covered up with a coat.”

“When the jacket briefly popped open at one point to reveal the dress, Mr. Baldoni commented about how much he liked her outfit, which flustered Ms. Lively,” the docs read. “Later that day, Mr. Baldoni pressured Ms. Lively (who was in her pre-approved wardrobe) to remove her coat in front of the crew and multiple background actors in a packed bar. He said wanted to see her “onesie” under the coat because it was zipped low to reveal her lace bra.”

Baldoni allegedly said, “I think you look sexy” in a “tone that made her feel ogled and exposed.”

“With other female cast present, she said, ‘That’s not what I’m going for.’ He bristled and replied, ‘I’m sorry, hot,’” the docs read. “Deeply uncomfortable, Ms. Lively said, ‘Not that either.’ Mr. Baldoni, responded sarcastically, ‘I guess I missed the HR meeting,’ and walked away.”

After the incident, another woman on the production allegedly spoke with Lively to “offer empathy and to share her own similar experiences with Mr. Baldoni commenting about her in sexual terms.”

Another Alleged Sexual Harassment Complaint

The docs alleged that “as result of Mr. Baldoni’s behavior, on May 29, 2023, another cast member lodged a sexual harassment complaint about Mr. Baldoni’s ‘gross’ and ‘unwanted comment[s]’ towards her and others.”

Early in the production, the docs alleged that “another actress made a complaint about Mr.
Baldoni’s comments on her appearance. Mr. Baldoni expressly acknowledged her concerns in writing, stating he would ‘adjust accordingly.’ Yet on June 8, 2023, that actress informed Ms. Lively that ‘outside of anything in a scene, I actually cannot talk to Justin at all.’ Mr. Baldoni later expressed suspicion regarding Ms. Lively’s friendship with this actress, as if they were colluding against him.”

Affects on Ryan Reynolds and Their Children

The complaint alleged that “the emotional impact on Ms. Lively has been extreme, not only affecting her, but her family, including her husband and four children.”

“There are days when she has struggled to get out of bed, and she frequently chooses not to venture outside in public. While she has fought to maintain her personal life and business interests, behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety,” the docs allege. “She also has been experiencing repeated and painful physical symptoms as a result of this experience.”

The lawsuit claims that Reynolds “has been affected mentally, physically, and professionally by his wife and children’s pain.” The docs continue, “Worst of all, however, has been the impact on their young children, who have been traumatized and emotionally uprooted in ways that have substantially impacted their well-being.”

Alleged Damages

The lawsuit alleged that Lively was set to host the season 50 premiere of Saturday Night Live, but backed out due to the drama surrounding the release of It Ends With Us. (Hacks star Jean Smart hosted instead.)

“The effects on Ms. Lively’s professional life were immediate and substantial,” the docs read. “Given the ongoing nature of the campaign and the associated negative public sentiment, Ms. Lively did not believe she could proceed with public appearances or events without being forced to openly discuss what happened on set.”

“For example, Ms. Lively canceled a critical Target corporate event for her hair care company [Blake Brown Beauty], and she backed out of her scheduled role to host the premier episode of the 50th anniversary season of Saturday Night Live in September 2024,” the suit added.

The docs allege that Lively suffered damages to her companies as well. “Initially, before the ‘social manipulation’ campaign started, Ms. Lively was informed that Blake Brown was Target’s largest haircare launch on record,” the docs allege. “Based on internal sales projections, the sudden and unexpected negative media campaign launched against Ms. Lively depressed retail sales of Blake Brown products by 56%–78%. This dramatic drop was completely at odds with the high satisfaction scores that Blake Brown products received in the significant consumer testing performed before launch or its initial success after launch.”

The lawsuit alleges that Lively’s other brands, including Betty Buzz and Betty Booze, “were flooded by hateful comments” which forced “each of Ms. Lively’s businesses to go ‘dark’ on social media in August.” The docs continue, “Ms. Lively did the same, for nearly two months, and during this time was unable to market or promote any of her businesses, all of which rely on her support, causing issues with many business partners and customers.”

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