Fuck. I think I may owe Blake Lively a massive apology. Like everyone else on the internet, I was – I’m cringing as I write this – leaning Team Justin Baldoni during the whole It Ends With Us controversy over the summer.
You may recall that Blake and other cast members unfollowed Justin and didn’t do any promo with him amidst reports about a creative control battle between Blake and Justin. Blake also received a ton of backlash for appearing to treat the film more like a romance movie and less like a domestic violence-centered movie. Meanwhile, Justin was praised for focusing on the topic of domestic violence in all of his It Ends With Us interviews.
I fear many of us chose a side without knowing almost anything about this situation, and we might’ve been bamboozled by PR experts. On December 21, The New York Times reported that Blake filed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against Justin with the California Civil Rights Department. She’s accusing him of creating a hostile work environment and participating in a smear campaign against her.
In a statement about the complaint, Blake told the newspaper: “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.”
In his own statement, Bryan Freedman, Justin’s lawyer, told People that Blake is merely trying to “fix her negative reputation.” He called her allegations “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt.”
Following the New York Times report, Deadline reported that Justin was dropped by talent agency WME. Sources told the outlet that he was dropped “due in part to the sexual harassment and retaliation complaint filed.”
Here’s a breakdown of Blake Lively’s sexual harassment and smear campaign allegations against Justin Baldoni.
Blake Lively’s Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Justin Baldoni Explained
Blake wrote in her complaint that she and other cast and crew members “experienced invasive unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior.”
The actress and producer’s complaint states there was a meeting to address Blake’s concerns about Justin’s alleged misconduct and “the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production.”
Blake’s demands discussed during that meeting reportedly included a full-time intimacy coordinator as well as “no more showing nude videos or images of women … to [Lively] and/or her employees,” “no more mention of [Baldoni’s] previous ‘pornography addiction,'”… “no more discussions to [Lively]…about personal experiences with sex,” “no more inquiries by [Baldoni] to [Lively’s] trainer without her knowledge or consent to disclose her weight,” and “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project.”
Sony Pictures and Wayfarer Studios reportedly approved these requests, but per Blake’s complaint, Justin allegedly sought revenge with a smear campaign.
Justin Baldoni’s Alleged Smear Campaign Against Blake Lively Explained
According to the report in The New York Times, Blake accused Justin of taking part in a “social manipulation” campaign designed to “destroy” her reputation. As you may remember, Justin hired veteran PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan back in August when the movie came out. (The same crisis manager who represented Johnny Depp during the Amber Heard trial.) The report includes texts obtained through a subpoena that reveal Melissa’s mission to control the social media narrative through “full social account take downs” and initiating “threads of theories” about Blake.
Per the text messages, a publicist working with Justin wrote about Blake: “He wants to feel like she can be buried.” Melissa replied, “You know we can bury anyone.”
When Blake faced criticism for promoting her Betty Booze beverage company and failing to speak about domestic violence in her It Ends With Us interviews, Justin and his team took advantage of the moment and “decided instead to highlight survivors of domestic violence in his interviews and social media,” per The New York Times.
The most depressing text in this report? Melissa wrote: “Socials are really really ramping up. In his favour, she must be furious. It’s actually sad because it just shows you have people really want to hate on women.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Yes. It is really fucking sad. Us chronically online people who doubted Blake and praised Justin last summer have a lot of reflecting to do.
