Actress Blake Lively has filed a complaint against director Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, alleging a hostile work environment and a campaign to damage her reputation. Lively claims that Baldoni added unwanted intimate scenes during filming for 'It Ends With Us,' and that the production company retaliated against her after she raised concerns.
The 80-page administrative complaint, filed in California Civil Court on Friday and obtained by Vanity Fair, follows a filing made the same day by Lively's legal team with California's Civil Rights Department. Instead of requesting that state investigators look into the allegations, Lively requested an immediate right to sue. That right was granted, sources familiar with the case tell Vanity Fair.
According to the complaint, when filming for It Ends With Us was set to resume following a disruption prompted by the 2023 Hollywood strikes, attorneys for Blake Lively sent a letter to the film's production company, Wayfarer Studios, asking for an end to what, in the complaint, was described as a “hostile work environment.” In a subsequent “all-hands” meeting this January, according to the complaint, Lively told a group that included Baldoni, some of the film's producers, and studio execs, as well as Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, that Baldoni had improvised additional kissing in scenes. She asked for an end to “adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing,” the complaint alleges, and both sides agreed to a set of boundaries before filming resumed. But though the list of stipulations included a prohibition on retaliation against Lively for raising those complaints, the complaint alleges that Baldoni, Heath, and others within Wayfarer hired public relations strategists to create a campaign to erode public trust in Lively, a preemptive move in case Lively's on-set allegations were leaked to the public. As first reported by The New York Times, text messages and emails Lively’s team obtained via subpoena include messages between public relations, crisis communications, and media management experts that appear to detail a coordinated set of efforts to plant negative stories about Lively in the media and boost social media posts critical of the sta
Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Wayfarer Studios Hostile Work Environment Defamation
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni latest: Text messages show plan to 'bury' LivelyMessages show a coordinated campaign to “bury' Blake Lively in bad press after she accused “It Ends With Us' co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment, reports say.
Read more »
Blake Lively's Sister Robyn Lively Reacts to Justin Baldoni LawsuitRobyn Lively shared her support for sister Blake Lively getting ‘justice’ after accusing Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment
Read more »
Justin Baldoni's Blake Lively Takedown Plan Mentions Taylor SwiftBlake Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni on Friday, December 20
Read more »
Justin Baldoni Dropped by His Talent Agency as Blake Lively Sues Him for Sexual HarassmentJustin Baldoni was dropped by talent agency WME on Dec. 21, the same day it came to light that his 'It Ends with Us' costar Blake Lively sued him for sexual harassment and accused him of running a smear campaign against her.
Read more »
Blake Lively sues Justin Baldoni over alleged sexual misconduct on 'It Ends with Us' setLively says the alleged behavior caused her 'severe emotional distress.'
Read more »
Justin Baldoni Dropped From Agency After Blake Lively Files LawsuitJustin Baldoni's agency William Morris Endeavor has severed ties with the embattled actor ... this just hours after Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against him.
Read more »