‘A Simple Favor’ Director Paul Feig Shows Support for Blake Lively: “She Truly Did Not Deserve Any of This Smear Campaign Against Her”
Paul Feig has joined the group of supporters in Blake Lively’s corner.
Feig, who directed the actress in 2018’s A Simple Favor and its upcoming sequel, posted a message of support for Lively on X after she filed a lengthy complaint against Justin Baldoni, her It Ends With Us co-star and the film’s director, for sexual harassment and an alleged coordinated effort to destroy her reputation.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
“I’ve now made two movies with Blake and all I can say is she’s one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with,” Feig posted. “She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s awful she was put through this.”
Feig joins Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants castmates — America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel — in publicly showing support for the actress.
“As Blake’s friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation,” they wrote in a joint statement posted to Instagram. “Throughout the filming of It Ends With Us, we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice. Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors’ stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding.”
SAG-AFTRA also released a statement in support of the actress following her decision to take legal action.
“These are startling and troubling allegations. Employees have every right to raise issues of concern or to file complaints. Retaliation for reporting misconduct or inappropriate behavior is illegal and wrong,” the guild said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “We applaud Blake Lively’s courage in speaking out on issues of retaliation and harassment and for her request to have an intimacy coordinator for all scenes with nudity or sexual content. This is an important step that helps ensure a safe set. We all have a right to be treated with dignity and respect on the job and to work in an environment free of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. We urge anyone who may be experiencing abusive conduct to report such violations on our SAG-AFTRA Safe Place app and to their employer.”
According to Lively’s complaint, which was filed Friday, an all-hands-on-deck meeting was held during filming to address her claims of a hostile work environment. According to TMZ, Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, was among those who attended that meeting.
During that meeting, Lively reportedly demanded that Baldoni stop the following alleged actions: showing nude videos or images of women to the actress, mentioning his alleged previous “pornography addiction,” discussing his sexual experiences in front of Lively and others, mentioning the cast and crew’s genitalia, and asking about Lively’s weight.
Lively additionally claimed that Baldoni and company allegedly engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation. The filing includes 22 pages of texts from Baldoni’s publicist to TAG’s Melissa Nathan, who heads her own crisis PR firm, about how he “wants to feel like [Ms. Lively] can be buried,” to which Nathan replied, “we can’t write we will destroy her.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Lively said, “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.”
Bryan Freedman, the attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and all its representatives, released a statement slamming Lively’s claims. “It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the Internet to generate their own views and opinions,” Freedman wrote.
After news of Lively’s complaint broke, WME dropped Baldoni as a client. The agency also reps Lively and Reynolds.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Sign up for THR's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
