Blake Lively has filed a federal lawsuit against It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni and others, claiming harassment and a deliberate campaign to tarnish her reputation after voicing concerns about her treatment on set. The lawsuit was lodged in New York shortly after Baldoni and his co-defendants filed a libel suit against The New York Times for their article on Lively’s allegations, asserting that she was leading a smear campaign against them.
Lively’s lawsuit accuses Baldoni, the production company Wayfarer Studios, and others of orchestrating a multi-faceted retaliation strategy to suppress her from speaking out about "repeated sexual harassment" by Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath. The alleged campaign included seeding disinformation online and engineering social media attacks.
She further alleges inappropriate comments made by Baldoni regarding the physical appearances of female cast members, alongside personal discussions about sexual experiences and attempts to pry into her private life. Baldoni’s legal team has characterised these allegations as “false and outrageous,” while the Times stands firm in its defence of the accuracy of its reporting.
Lively, best known for her roles in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Gossip Girl, filed her complaint on the same day that It Ends With Us was released, a film that has sparked broader conversations about the treatment of women in Hollywood.