Blake Lively sues Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment
What's the story
Actor Blake Lively has filed a legal complaint against Justin Baldoni, her former co-star and director from the film It Ends with Us.
The lawsuit, filed in California, alleges sexual harassment and a calculated PR campaign to tarnish her reputation, reported TMZ.
Reportedly, the situation worsened to such an extent during the movie's production that a meeting was called to address Lively's concerns about an unfriendly work environment.
Her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was also present at the meeting.
Meeting demands
Lively and Reynolds set boundaries during tense meeting
During the aforementioned meeting, Lively and Reynolds reportedly laid down several conditions.
These included "no more showing nude videos or images of women to Lively, no more mention of Baldoni's alleged previous 'pornography addiction,' and no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Lively."
They also demanded that Baldoni should not inquire about Lively's weight or mention her deceased father.
Reputation attack
Lively alleged 'social manipulation' campaign by Baldoni
The complaint also claims that Lively insisted on "no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing the project."
While the studio initially accepted these demands, Lively alleges that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios later launched a "social manipulation" campaign to "destroy" her reputation.
The alleged tactics included planting theories on online message boards, engineering a social media campaign, and publishing news stories critical of Lively.
Texts revealed
Baldoni's publicist's texts to studio publicist included in complaint
The complaint also features purported texts from Baldoni's publicist to the studio publicist.
The messages include lines like Baldoni "wants to feel like [Ms Lively] can be buried," and "We can't write we will destroy her."
Addressing the allegations, 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."
Counterclaims
Baldoni's legal team denied allegations, criticized Lively
Baldoni's legal team has vehemently denied the allegations.
Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Baldoni, said it is "shameful that Ms Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations."
He called Lively's action a desperate attempt to "fix" her bad reputation which he says she earned from her own words and actions during the film's campaign.
Freedman also revealed his client previously hired a crisis manager over "multiple demands and threats" allegedly made by Lively.