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

Blake Lively has filed a legal complaint against her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment during filming as well as organizing a “smear campaign” against her in the months that followed.

The 37-year-old Gossip Girl actor stars as Lily Bloom in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, which centers around a flower shop owner’s abusive relationship with her partner, Ryle Kincaid, played by Baldoni.

The complaint, which was filed with the California Civil Rights Department and is the precursor to a lawsuit, is the culmination of months of speculation from fans and the media, after rumors of a rift between Baldoni, who also directed the movie, and the rest of the cast overshadowed its promotion.

Legal documents seen by The Independent as well as an investigation by The New York Times accuse Baldoni and associates of a targeted effort to “destroy” the actor and drag her in the media, which Lively says has caused her “severe emotional distress.”

The legal filing

Lively filed a legal complaint on Friday in which she claimed that a meeting took place in early January to address the “hostile work environment that had almost derailed the film.” She accused Baldoni and lead producer Jamey Heath of “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior,” including unwanted improvised kissing from Baldoni.

According to the complaint, the actor had a number of requirements in order for her to continue work on the film, including:

— No more showing nude videos or images of women, including producer’s wife, to Lively and/or her employees.

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

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

— No more descriptions of their own genitalia to Lively

— No more mention by Baldoni of him “speaking to” Lively’s late father

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

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

The actor, the filing states, suffered “substantial harm caused by this malicious campaign, which pervaded, and continues to pervade, all aspects of Ms. Lively’s life.”

The ‘smear’ campaign

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

According to The Times, Nathan has previously worked for high profile figures including Johnny Depp and rappers Drake and Travis Scott.

Message exchanges included in the filing allegedly show how the trio sought to create a “plan” to deal with speculation on social media and control the narrative, providing “protection” to Baldoni. “He wants to feel like [Lively] can be buried,” Abel wrote to Nathan.

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

The complaint also states that on August 4, Abel texted Nathan, stating, “I’m having reckless thoughts of wanting to plant pieces this week of how horrible Blake is to work with... Just to get ahead of it.” Nathan responded, “same,” and indicated that she had already spoken to certain media outlets.

Around two weeks later, per the filing, Nathan shared an article headlined “Is Blake Lively set to be CANCELLED?” “Wow. You really outdid yourself with this piece,” Abel replied.

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

The press tour ‘rift’

Speculation about a rift between Baldoni and the rest of the cast first erupted during the movie’s promotional tour, following its release on August 9.

Fans noted Baldoni’s absence from joint press events, a lack of group photos featuring both Lively and Baldoni together at premieres, and the fact that the cast — as well as Lively’s husband, fellow Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds — had unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram.

According to The Times, Lively and other cast members had informed Sony and Wayfarer, the movie’s distributor and studio, that they would not do any appearances alongside Baldoni.

Colleen Hoover reportedly had her own issues with him and had become more upset after learning that Lively had made complaints about Baldoni’s on-set behavior to the studio. She also did not appear with Baldoni at press events, and unfollowed him on Instagram.

Effect on Lively

Shortly after the release of It Ends with Us, the actor was flooded with negative press that ultimately became a high percentage of her online presence, according to a review she sought from a brand marketing consultant, reported by The Times.

Media articles branded her as tone-deaf and a bully, with some outlets speculating whether she was “set to be canceled.” Her hair-care line — Blake Brown — reportedly experienced a drop in sales of some 78 percent.

One day after the release of the movie, Kjersti Flaa, a Norwegian entertainment reporter, uploaded a 2016 interview to YouTube, in which Lively snapped back about comments on her baby “bump” and appeared standoffish for the remainder of the interview.

Flaa titled the video “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job,” and told The Daily Mail that “it’s time that people behaving badly in Hollywood, or anywhere else for that matter, gets called out for it.”

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

The Fallout

A statement from Bryan Freedman, who is representing Baldoni, stated that Lively’s complaint was “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,” the statement, shared with The Times read.

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

However, others have already spoken out in support of the actor, including her sister and Colleen Hoover. “FINALLY justice for my sister @BlakeLively,” Robyn Lively wrote on her Instagram story on Saturday, highlighting specific sentences and phrases from the Times 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 human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”

Faa, whose “nightmare” 2016 interview with Lively was also referenced in the suit, also denied she had been part of any targeted campaign against the actor

Addressing the situation in a YouTube video, Flaa said that she would “never take money to jeopardize my integrity as a journalist.” “Some people have started these conspiracies that I am connected to the PR campaign against Blake Lively; that is not true,” she said.

The Independent previously contacted Baldoni and Lively’s representation for comment about the complaint and the accusations.

Baldoni sues The New York Times

Baldoni filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on Tuesday against The New York Times over their coverage of Lively’s lawsuit. The actor and director claims the Times “relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative” and disregarded “an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”

The lawsuit argues the Times published a “false narrative” by “cherry-picking out-of-context (and in some cases doctored) private communications” that weren’t intended for outside eyes. He also accused Lively of conducting a “hostile takeover” of the film in his lawsuit, alleging she tried to assert “unilateral control over every aspect of the production” through “strategic and manipulative” methods.

Baldoni and his fellow plaintiffs are suing for $250 million in damages.

The Times has defended its reporting and noted the organization plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”

“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” a Times spokesperson told The Independent on Tuesday. “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”

“To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article and their representatives have not pointed to a single error,” the spokesperson added.

Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said he and the other plaintiffs are uniting to “take down [the Times] by no longer allowing them to deceive the public.”

“In this vicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team, the New York Times cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful “untouchable” Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative,” Freedman said in a statement.