"We strongly condemn any reputational attacks on her" — Sony Pictures “fully" supports Blake Lively following her allegations against Justin Baldoni

Sony Pictures, the production giant behind It Ends With Us, has come forward in support of Blake Lively after her s*xual harassment allegations against co-star Justin Baldoni.

On December 20, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni, accusing him of s*xual harassment, fostering a hostile work environment, and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.

In a statement to Variety on December 23, Sony Pictures said it "fully" supported Blake Lively and condemned any "reputational attacks" the actress faced.

“We have previously expressed our support for Blake in connection with her work on and for the film. We fully and firmly reiterate that support today. Further, we strongly condemn any reputational attacks on her. Any such attacks have no place in our business or in a civil society," a spokesperson said.

Sony Pictures' statement came amid overwhelming support for Blake Lively from Hollywood, including words of goodwill from her fellow actors, Christina Ricci, Amber Heard, and America Ferrera. According to Variety, SAG-AFTRA also publicly supported Blake Lively, applauding the actress for having the courage to openly speak on "issues of retaliation and harassment."

It Ends With Us is a romantic drama based on Colleen Hoover's book of the same name. The movie, which revolves around sensitive issues like domestic violence and abuse, was released in August 2024 amid mounting controversy.

Rumors of a feud between Baldoni and Lively floated on social media after the two lead actors were not seen together for promotion pictures during the movie's premiere. Additionally, all cast members unfollowed Baldoni on social media, further fuelling speculations.

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Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni's PR team of launching a smear campaign

The press run for It Ends With Us was widely discussed in July and August 2024. Blake Lively received immense backlash on social media for her seemingly careless attitude toward the domestic violence depicted in the film, while Baldoni was praised for openly discussing it.

However, Blake Lively claimed the backlash resulted from a carefully orchestrated smear campaign targeting her. In her complaint, the actress alleged the film's director and lead actor, Justin Baldoni, and his PR team constructed a smear campaign to tarnish her reputation.

Blake Lively also provided alleged text messages exchanged between Baldoni, his publicist Jennifer Abel, and crisis PR executive Melissa Nathan. The messages included alleged texts between Abel and Nathan about how the online narrative was "freaking good" after fans started to pick Baldoni's side during the press run.

One alleged message from Nathan read, "You know we can bury anyone." In another message, Abel allegedly told Nathan she had "reckless thoughts" of wanting to plant fake articles about how Lively was "horrible" to work with.

After news of the alleged messages broke, Jennifer Abel took it upon herself to tell her side of the story on a PR Facebook group. She claimed that while Baldoni's team took precautions by creating plans as contingencies to protect their client, no actual smear campaign occurred from their side.

“We sophomorically revealed and again joked privately to each other about the internet’s feedback to the woman whose team was making our lives incredibly difficult over the course of the campaign. I’m human,” Abel wrote.

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Meanwhile, Justin Baldoni denied all allegations, with his lawyer Bryan Freedman calling them "shameful" and "categorically false."