Blake Lively's Allegations Against Justin Baldoni: Unwanted Kissing, Invasion of Privacy, and Smear Campaign.
Blake Lively has accused Justin Baldoni of inappropriate conduct while filming It Ends with Us and has filed a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment, along with claims of a subsequent smear campaign.
Following months of speculation about a rift between the co-stars, Lively, 37, has recently submitted a complaint stating that Baldoni, 40, who directed the film, displayed “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on set. She further claims that after filming concluded, he initiated a significant retaliatory campaign to damage her reputation. The lawsuit targets not only Baldoni but also the film's lead producer, Jamey Heath, as well as Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, and its co-founder, Steve Sarowitz.
Additionally, it includes Jed Wallace, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel, who are accused of participating in the alleged efforts to undermine Lively’s image earlier this year. In response, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, stated that Lively's lawsuit aims to "repair her negative reputation." He characterized her claims as "false, outrageous, and intentionally sensational with the goal of causing public harm." Freedman also claimed that Lively created problems during the movie's production, including threats to not appear on set and to refrain from promoting the film, which he argues contributed to its struggles upon release.
Baldoni reportedly added "unnecessary sexual content" after Lively agreed to join the film, as stated in the complaint.
Lively's claims trace back to before the filming of the Colleen Hoover novel adaptation began and prior to a meeting aimed at establishing safeguards regarding Baldoni and Heath. Among her allegations is that Baldoni “inserted improvised unnecessary sexual content and/or scenes featuring nudity into the film (including for a minor character) in deeply troubling ways” before shooting commenced.
These modifications included “a scene where Ms. Lively was to orgasm on-camera” and a “graphic scene” depicting the younger version of Lively’s character, Lily Bloom, losing her virginity, which was not part of the original novel. These elements were reportedly added without the actress’ approval after she had signed on to the project, according to the complaint. When Lively raised concerns about these additions, Baldoni allegedly claimed he included them to create the film “through the female gaze.”
Although he eventually agreed to remove the scenes, the director reportedly attempted to retain one where Lily and Baldoni's character, Ryle Kincaid, orgasm on their wedding night, stating it was “important to him because he and his partner climax simultaneously during intercourse.” Additionally, he “intrusively asked” Lively if she and her husband (the actress is married to Ryan Reynolds) also “climax simultaneously during intercourse,” a question Lively found “invasive” and chose not to engage with, according to the complaint.
Baldoni reportedly engaged in unscripted kisses and questioned Lively about her personal life, as stated in the complaint.
The complaint alleges that during the intimate scenes included in the final cut, Baldoni also “improvised physical closeness that had not been rehearsed, choreographed, or discussed with Ms. Lively, without the involvement of an intimacy coordinator.” One instance of this improvisation, according to the complaint, involved Baldoni “subtly biting and sucking on Ms. Lively’s lower lip during a scene where he improvised multiple kisses for each take,” a scene he “insisted” on repeating “numerous times.”
In another moment, during a silent slow dance between Lily and Ryle, Baldoni, speaking as himself, “leaned in and slowly traced his lips from her ear down her neck while saying, ‘it smells so good,’” the complaint claims. The complaint further alleges that Baldoni “was using his mouth to caress Ms. Lively in a manner unrelated to their characters,” and when Lively later expressed her discomfort, Baldoni allegedly replied, “I’m not even attracted to you.” After a meeting in January 2024 involving Lively, Baldoni, producers, and Ryan Reynolds, Wayfarer Studios agreed to have an intimacy coordinator present "for all scenes involving nudity and/or simulated sex" and to prohibit "any further improvisation of kissing," according to the complaint.
The complaint states that Baldoni and Heath disclosed their own "personal sexual experiences" without obtaining consent.
According to the complaint, this "disturbing" behavior persisted during filming, where both Baldoni and Heath allegedly pressured Lively to share similar experiences. In a particular scene where Lily is giving birth, the complaint claims that Baldoni and Heath unexpectedly urged Ms. Lively to simulate full nudity, even though there was no prior mention of nudity in the script, her contract, or any earlier discussions.
The birth scene, in which Lively was "mostly nude with her legs spread wide in stirrups and only a small piece of fabric covering her genitalia," reportedly lacked standard industry protections, as per the complaint. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Heath showed Lively and her on-set assistant a graphic video of his wife giving birth, which Lively initially perceived as "pornography," without their consent. It also claims that both men "invaded" Lively's privacy by frequently entering her trailer without notice while she was undressed.
On the second day of filming, Lively attempted to meet with Heath to address Baldoni’s “unprofessional behavior.” According to the complaint, Heath unexpectedly showed up at Lively’s makeup trailer while she was “topless and having body makeup removed by makeup artists.” When Lively suggested they could talk “once she was clothed,” he insisted on entering, and she “reluctantly agreed” but requested that he keep his back turned. However, she reportedly noticed moments later that the producer was “staring directly at her while she was topless.”
The complaint claims that Baldoni and Heath demonstrated a “shocking lack of boundaries” both physically and in their conversations.
As filming progressed, they allegedly entered Lively’s trailer “uninvited” while she was undressed or in a “vulnerable” state, including instances when she was breastfeeding her infant child. Additionally, Baldoni and Heath frequently discussed their “previous pornography addiction” and shared details about their past sexual relationships in a manner that Lively found “disrespectful and disturbing,” according to the complaint.
During a car ride with Lively, her assistant, and a driver, the director revealed that he had been “sexually abused” by a former girlfriend, a topic he has since discussed publicly.
He also reportedly confessed to having engaged in sexual activities without consent in a previous relationship. “Did I always ask for consent? No. Did I always respect when they said no?
No,” Baldoni allegedly stated during the ride, which concluded with Lively’s driver expressing concern about her being alone with the director in the future. The complaint claims that Baldoni and Heath frequently hugged and touched the cast and crew of It Ends with Us, and when Lively or others tried to avoid this contact, they would respond with irritation and uncooperative behavior. At one point, Baldoni allegedly claimed he could communicate with the deceased, telling Lively on multiple occasions that he had spoken to her recently departed father.
The complaint also alleges that Baldoni both sexualized Lively and made negative comments about her appearance.
He reportedly referred to women in the workplace as “sexy” and, in one incident, pressured Lively to take off her coat to show her onesie, which she had partially unzipped, telling her, “I think you look sexy” in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. In addition to his alleged inappropriate remarks, Baldoni is accused of making critical comments about Lively’s age and weight, expressing concerns that she “looked old and unattractive” based on paparazzi photos taken on set. He also allegedly demeaned her by finding subtle ways to criticize her body and weight, including contacting her trainer shortly after she had given birth to her fourth child and suggesting he wanted her to lose weight quickly.
The complaint alleges that Baldoni and Heath intentionally kept Lively in the dark about her exposure to COVID during an outbreak on set, which resulted in both her and her infant child contracting the virus.
A series of measures were put in place to address Baldoni and Heath's conduct on set.
Filming for It Ends with Us was halted during last year's writers' strike, but before it was scheduled to resume, Lively expressed her concerns about the director and producer's “invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” in a meeting held in January 2024.
The outcome of the "all hands" meeting, convened to tackle the “hostile work environment” that had almost derailed production before the strike, was a list of 30 protective measures. This included 17 specifically aimed at requiring Wayfarer to put an end to the on-set behavior of Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath, according to the complaint. Among these measures were stipulations such as “no more improvising of kissing” and “no more personal, physical touching or sexual comments from Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath towards [Blake Lively] or any of her staff, as well as any female cast or crew members without their explicit consent.”
In response to the list, Wayfarer, co-owned by Baldoni, stated, “While we may have differing perspectives on many issues, ensuring a safe environment for everyone is our top priority, regardless of differing opinions. We find most of your requests not only reasonable but also crucial for the well-being of all involved.”
The complaint claims that Baldoni initiated a smear campaign against Lively, stating, "He wants to feel like she can be buried."
It suggests that prior to the premiere of It Ends with Us in August, Baldoni, concerned that Lively might disclose her negative experiences on set, assembled a team to safeguard his reputation and turn public opinion against her. This is supported by private texts and emails referenced in the complaint.
“To protect against the possibility of Ms. Lively revealing the truth about Mr. Baldoni, the Baldoni-Wayfarer team created, disseminated, and amplified content aimed at damaging Ms. Lively’s credibility,” the complaint states. “They employed similar strategies to enhance Mr. Baldoni’s credibility and minimize any negative information about him.” In one communication between Abel, a public relations executive, and Nathan, a crisis management specialist, Abel shares Baldoni’s dissatisfaction with the team’s initial approach to the alleged smear campaign, as shown in the documents submitted with the complaint.
“I think you guys need to be tough and demonstrate the strength of what you can achieve in these situations,” Abel advised Nathan regarding the actor. “He wants to feel like she can be buried.”
"Of course — but you know when we send over documents we can’t send over the work we will or could do because that could get us in a lot of trouble,” Nathan replied. And, in other texts, she allegedly added, “We can’t write we will destroy her," and, “Imagine if a document saying all the things that he wants ends up in the wrong hands.”
Other texts show Baldoni’s team reveling in their success after shutting down reports of his alleged inappropriate behavior on set, with Nathan saying in October that Baldoni “doesn’t realise how lucky he is right now.”
In his statement, Baldoni's lawyer Freedman asserted that representatives of Wayfarer Studios "did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity. What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals.”
After the complaint was filed, Lively said in a statement to The New York Times, "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."
