What we know about Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni over his alleged “smear campaign.”

Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against her It ends with us Co-star Justin Baldoni accused him of sexual harassment during filming and organized a “smear campaign” against her in the following months.

The 37 year old gossip Girl The actor plays Lily Bloom in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, about a flower shop owner’s abusive relationship with her partner Ryle Kincaid, played by Baldoni.

The complaint, filed with the California Department of Civil Rights and a precursor to a lawsuit, is the culmination of months of speculation from fans and media following rumors of a rift between Baldoni, who also directed the film, and the others the occupation overshadowed its publicity.

Legal documents viewed by The Independent as well as an investigation of The New York Times accused Baldoni and his associates of a deliberate attempt to “destroy” the actress and drag her into the media, which Lively said caused her “severe emotional distress.”

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The legal filing

Lively filed a legal complaint on Friday, alleging that a meeting was held in early January to address the “hostile work environment that nearly derailed the film.” She accused Baldoni and lead producer Jamey Heath of “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior,” including unwanted impromptu kisses from Baldoni.

According to the complaint, the actress had to meet a number of requirements in order for her to continue working on the film, including:

– Stop showing nude videos or images of women, including the producer’s wife, Lively and/or her associates.

— No more mention of Baldoni or Heath’s former “pornography addiction”

— No more discussions with Lively and/or her employees about personal experiences with sex

– No further descriptions of her own genitals to Lively

– Baldoni no longer mentions that he “spoke” to Lively’s late father.

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The filing also alleged that Baldoni, without Lively’s knowledge, “inserted improvised sexual content and/or scenes of nudity into the film in a highly disturbing manner (including for an underage character).”

Lively claims that after Sony Pictures approved her requests, Baldoni hired a special team and launched a campaign to “destroy” her reputation.

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The filing said the actor “suffered significant harm caused by this malicious campaign that has permeated and continues to permeate all aspects of Ms. Lively’s life.”

The “smear campaign”.

Lively’s 80-page file includes excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails between Baldoni, public relations manager Jennifer Abel and crisis management expert Melissa Nathan.

Accordingly The times, Nathan has previously worked for high-profile personalities such as Johnny Depp and rappers Drake and Travis Scott.

Message exchanges included in the filing allegedly show how the trio attempted to develop a “plan” to deal with speculation on social media and control the narrative in order to provide “protection” to Baldoni. “He wants to feel like (Lively) can be buried,” Abel wrote to Nathan.

“You know we can bury anyone,” Nathan replied later.

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The complaint also states that Abel texted Nathan on Aug. 4 that said, “I have a thought this week about spreading bits about how terrible it is to work with Blake… Just for the record.” to be one step ahead.” Nathan replied, “Same,” and stated that she had already spoken to certain media outlets.

About two weeks later, according to the filing, Nathan shared an article with the headline, “Is Blake Lively CANCELED?” “Wow. You really outdid yourself with this piece,” Abel replied.

“That’s why you hired me, right?” Nathan replied. “I am the best.”

The press tour “Riss”

Speculation about a rift between Baldoni and the rest of the cast first surfaced during the film’s promotional tour after it hit theaters on August 9th.

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Fans noted Baldoni’s absence from joint press events, the lack of group photos showing Lively and Baldoni together at premieres, and the fact that the cast — as well as Lively’s husband, Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds — no longer follow Baldoni on Instagram followed.

Accordingly The times, Lively and other cast members had informed Sony and Wayfarer, the film’s distributor and studio, that they would not appear alongside Baldoni.

Colleen Hoover reportedly had her own issues with him and was even more upset when she learned that Lively had complained to the studio about Baldoni’s behavior on set. She also stopped appearing with Baldoni at press events and stopped following him on Instagram.

Effect on Lively

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Shortly after the release of It ends with usAccording to a review she obtained from a brand marketing consultant, the actress was inundated with negative press, which ultimately became a large part of her online presence, reported by The times.

Media articles branded her tone-deaf and a bully, and some media outlets speculated whether she would be “canceled.” Her hair care line, Blake Brown, reportedly saw a sales decline of around 78 percent.

A day after the film’s release, Kjersti Flaa, a Norwegian entertainment reporter, uploaded a 2016 interview to YouTube in which Lively responded to comments about her baby bump and appeared distant for the rest of the interview.

Flaa captioned the video, “The interview with Blake Lively that made me quit my job,” and shared The Daily Mail that “it’s time for people who behave badly in Hollywood or elsewhere to be held accountable.”

In contrast, Baldoni was honored earlier this month at an event honoring men who “advance women, combat gender-based violence and promote gender equality worldwide.”

The fallout

A statement from Bryan Freedman, who represents Baldoni, said Lively’s complaint was “another desperate attempt to ‘repair’ her negative reputation created by her own statements and actions during the campaign for the film.”

“Interviews and press activity observed publicly, in real time and unedited, allowing the Internet to generate its own views and opinions,” said the statement shared with The times read.

Freedman added that the allegations were “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.”

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However, others have already spoken out in support of the actress, including her sister and Colleen Hoover. “FINALLY justice for my sister @BlakeLively,” Robyn Lively wrote on her Instagram Story on Saturday, highlighting certain sentences and phrases from the Just Article.

In her own story, Hoover wrote: “@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the person you are. Never change. Will never wither.”

Faa, whose 2016 “nightmare” interview with Lively was also mentioned in the lawsuit, also denied being involved in a targeted campaign against the actor

Flaa addressed the situation in a YouTube video, saying she would “never take money to compromise my integrity as a journalist.” “Some people have created these conspiracies that I associate with the PR campaign against Blake Lively; That’s not true,” she said.

The Independent had previously contacted representation for Baldoni and Lively for comment on the complaint and allegations.