Blake Lively insists she has witnesses to Justin Baldoni‘s “uncomfortable” behavior — despite his lawyers calling BS!
In the Gossip Girl star’s amended lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Blake claimed two other actresses on the set of It Ends With Us came forward with complaints about Justin and producer Jamey Heath‘s behavior on set. The cast members’ identities were not provided nor were their personal text exchanges, but Blake included her texts with them — including some that claim she had a witness to some of Justin’s alleged actions!
Related: Someone From IEWU Is Calling BS On Blake’s Accusations Against Justin!
According to the suit, on or around May 23, Blake and a female cast member “talked to each other about how uncomfortable they were both feeling.” The actress “later reached out to Ms. Lively by text to express appreciation and relief to be able to commiserate about their shared experiences.”
Ryan Reynolds‘ wife had a telling reply, writing:
“I’m sorry for what you’ve experienced and I wish I would’ve been there to witness it for you … thank you for not only witnessing me, but for coming in with such eloquent and safe backup. You were able to be bold without being inflammatory, which is such a tightrope.”
Oof.
The women all eventually told a Sony rep their concerns — but, as the film’s distributor, the rep claimed they were “not empowered to oversee physical production,” the legal doc stated. Instead, they were told to bring up their concerns with Wayfarer — you know, the company Justin and Jamey were both super high up at. Naturally, Blake “did not believe” the production company would investigate the claims themselves.
That’s why it’s so important to have a third party for things like this!
Despite Justin allegedly telling one female cast member that he had heard and understood her complaints and that he would be making changes, per Blake’s account, nothing changed. The suit says this left the women scrambling to figure out a way to finish filming without being in an uncomfortable position.
In one text to a co-star, Blake also noted that she needed to tread carefully to “salvage some degree of chemistry and camaraderie” with the director since they were only a third of the way through filming. The pair kept commiserating over their shared “discomfort” around Justin and Jamey — even recalling an incident in which the Five Feet Apart director “secretly recorded them, and another in which he made an unwelcome remark about the female cast member’s wardrobe.”
Secretly recorded them? WTF!
The docs also noted:
“Ms. Lively noted that Mr. Baldoni once asked her if he crossed a line, and when she said yes, he made a joke that he ‘must’ve missed the sexual harassment meeting.’”
Complaining about all this, the mother of four said in a text to the female cast member:
“You just can’t record people without asking. You can’t speak to people sexually while not in character or while talking about a character. And if you overstep, you move on. It’s the weirdness after that makes it feel bad. Like if we speak up the vibes on set get funky and the work suffers.”
Jeez.
Blake previously said in a text that she was put off by the way Justin reacted after being confronted about his behavior, pointing out:
“[H]e keeps referencing it. Or disconnects entirely. Or gets snippy and impatient as a director. He was so huffy after the sexy thing I felt awful for saying something.”
On June 8, Blake continued to vent about the ongoing issues, telling the actress:
“I know I find it really hard to speak to him. I try to cover it with busyness but not sure that covers what’s going on.”
The female actress also overheard Justin telling another actor on set:
“dude I have to tell you something but I don’t want to get canceled or lose my job … you can’t say anything on this set anymore.”
If that’s true, it’s not exactly sounding like the feminist he presents himself online, that’s for sure…
Regardless of what turns out to be true or not in this case, if women did speak up about feeling uncomfortable and actions weren’t taken to ensure all their safety, that’s upsetting.
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