The It Ends With Us feud just took a shocking turn!
According to TMZ on Saturday, Blake Lively has sued her former co-star/director Justin Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign to ruin her reputation! Whoa! As Perezcious readers know, rumors of on-set tension between the pair have circulated ever since the movie premiered over the summer. The two didn’t promote the film together. Other cast members and the book’s author, Colleen Hoover, also avoided Justin throughout the press run. No doubt something happened between him and everyone else, but what?
We’ve heard some sources say it all came down to creative differences, with Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, overstepping and using their power to create their version of the movie. Others say the feud started because Justin was allegedly “borderline abusive” with the cast and made Blake feel uncomfortable at times, allegedly asking about her weight — and even lingering too long during kiss scenes. And despite the alarming accusations about him, Blake was the one to receive a ton of backlash! Pretty much anything she said or done in the past or present came back to haunt her, ultimately giving her the title of a “mean girl” in Hollywood! An IRL Regina George! Yikes!
Related: Justin Baldoni Says He Had A ‘Near Breakdown’ During Filming With Blake Lively
However, it sounds like things allegedly were a lot worse on set than anyone knew, and not because of anything Blake did. Justin allegedly was the problem. Legal documents obtained by the outlet claimed a meeting took place to address the hostile work environment at one point during filming and was attended by various people, including Blake’s hubby. What she goes on to describe is truly disturbing behavior allegedly from Justin!
The lawsuit notes the Gossip Girl alum made demands during this sit-down due to his and his producing partner Jamey Heath‘s alleged conduct, including asking to no longer be shown nude videos or pictures of women by the latter. What! She also demanded Justin stop mentioning his alleged previous “pornography addiction,” discussing his sexual conquests in front of her or anyone else, bringing up the cast and crew’s genitalia, asking about her weight, and talking about her late father! If all that happened on set, how inappropriate! What the f**k!
And that was not all Blake asked for! She also demanded 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.” The lawsuit stated that the studio approved of her requests. However, the situation escalated because the pair butted heads over how the film should be marketed, causing the film to flop. Blake wanted to focus on her character’s resilience, while Justin wanted it to be about domestic violence during the promo.
We mean, a “flop” is a bit of a stretch! The movie did very well at the box office! Forbes reported it made more than $354 million in ticket sales globally. The film is also reportedly the top-grossing romantic drama since 2018’s A Star is Born. So by all accounts, the movie was a huge success! The only downside is that there was a lot of drama behind the scenes. It may not have been a flop financially but it allegedly took a huge toll on Blake emotionally…
After the conflict over the marketing, the Green Lantern star alleged Justin engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation. In the lawsuit, she included text messages from the Jane The Virgin alum’s publicist to the studio publicist stating that Justin “wants to feel like [Ms. Lively] can be buried, and ‘We can’t write we will destroy her.’” OMG?! Because of the smear campaign, Blake says her business was harmed and her family experienced “severe emotional distress.”
Justin’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has already denied the allegations to TMZ, saying the lawsuit is her way of trying to “fix her negative reputation.” He insisted the claims were “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt.” What’s more, the lawyer told the outlet Justin was never the problem on set. Instead, it was Blake. Freedman claimed she was a nightmare to work with, a “threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release.” Hmm.
Soooo we’re definitely not getting the sequel, It Starts With Us, right? Because there’s no way these two can work together again after this! Too much bad blood! Oof! Reactions to the bombshell lawsuit, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments.
[Image via MEGA/WENN, Sony Pictures Entertainment/YouTube]
Related Posts
