Blake Lively filed a legal complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star, Justin Baldoni, on Friday, December 20, 2024, accusing him of s*xual harassment in a California court. In her complaint, Blake Lively mentioned that she even addressed her concerns during the film's production, during a meeting which was specially held for the matter.
As per The Guardian's report on December 21, the meeting was attended by Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds too. The publication stated that in the meeting held in January 2024, Blake reportedly demanded:
“There would be no more showing nude videos or images of women to Lively, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘p*rnography addiction,’ and no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Lively”.
For the unversed, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni appeared in the movie, It Ends With Us which was released in August, this year. The movie, based on Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, also stars Hasan Minhaj, Jenny Slate, and Brandon Sklenar. Furthermore, Justin’s wife, Emily Baldoni, a Swedish actress, also appeared in It Ends With Us, as she portrayed Dr. Julie.
The complaint states that Lively requested Baldoni avoid asking about her weight and to stop referencing her late father. Additionally, Lively reportedly insisted during filming that no new s*x scenes be added beyond those she had already approved when signing onto the project.
As per the legal complaint, the production company allegedly agreed to her requests, the complaint accuses Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of later orchestrating a "social manipulation" effort to damage her reputation.
Emily and Justin Baldoni share two kids, Maiya and Maxwell: More details about the couple explored
Emily and Justin Baldoni got engaged in April 2013, when the actor proposed at Blu Jam Cafe, where they had their first date. Justin even uploaded the video to YouTube, which has amassed over 14 million views at the moment. The couple then tied the knot in July of the same year.
The couple then welcomed their first child, Maiya Grace, in 2015, and their son, Maxwell, in 2018. Justin even spoke about his kids to E! News in an October 2024 interview and revealed that not only his wife, but his kids were also a part of It Ends With Us. He said:
"They’re in the final scene in the farmer's market. There are two kids that are running into the farmer's market and that was their kind of debut—I said, ‘Action,’ and then they ran off."
Talking about Emily, Justin Baldoni's wife, the actress started working in films in 2005, as she appeared in the short film The Elephant’s Room. She later made appearances in several films like Killer Pad, 16 to Life, The Lost Tribe, Hidden Moon, Coherence, Snapshots, Five Feet Apart, and also Clouds.
Furthermore, Justin Baldoni's wife has also appeared in several TV shows, including Burn Notice, How I Met Your Mother, Crash, Without a Trace, Bones, Legend of the Seeker, Three Rivers, Jane the Virgin, and recently, in Shatter Belt.
BBC mentioned in their report on December 21, that regarding the lawsuit, the actor's legal team has refuted the allegations, by calling them “shameful, serious, and categorically false.”
Reportedly, Lively's complaint includes messages and emails from Baldoni's publicist to the studio publicist, allegedly outlining plans to counteract potential public exposure of her on-set conflicts with the director and co-star.