Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni: What you need to know

From the moment Justin Baldoni announced in 2019 that he was adapting the best-selling book It Ends With Us into a film, there was a widespread frenzy.

There are few books in recent years that have become as big a cultural phenomenon as Colleen Hoover’s novel – it has sold 20 million copies and become an internet sensation on TikTok with over a billion tags on the app.

When Blake Lively, who rose to fame playing Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl in the 2000s, was cast as the lead character, fans became even more excited, seeing her play a young woman named Lily Bloom. Told the right option for her, who had grown up. Witnessing domestic abuse and ending up in the same situation years later.

Lily, a flower seller in Boston, forms a complex love triangle between her attractive but abusive boyfriend Ryle Kincaid – played by Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni – and her kind-hearted first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar).

Released in early August, the film was a box office success and grossed over $350m (£280m) globally.

But despite its financial success, not everything was going so smoothly behind the scenes. Even before the film was released, rumors of a feud between Baldoni and Lively began to circulate.

Last week, Lively filed a legal complaint against her co-star, Accused him of sexual harassment and launched a defamation campaign against himSomething which Baldoni strongly denies. Here’s the story so far:

For a movie about domestic abuse, the press tour for It End’s With Us probably wasn’t what you would have expected. There were pink carpets, flowers galore and promotion for Lively’s new haircare brand and her husband’s gin company.

Instead of advocacy on the red carpet, Lively highlighted fashion and flowers.

At the London premiere, press were told to keep questions “fun and light-hearted”, while an event organizer told me to “stay away from questions on domestic abuse”.

A comment she made at the New York premiere – “You are more than just a survivor or just a victim” – sparked a sharp reaction on social media.

Ashley Paige, domestic abuse survivor Ms Lively’s language was criticized and told the BBC that her own trauma “shaped my identity”.

Lively was also criticized for her comments in another clumsy promotional tour video, where she said: “Grab your friends, wear your flowers and go out to see this.”

Ms Page accused Lively of promoting the film like a “Barbie sequel”.

Along with describing the press tour as “tone-deaf”, people began to question why Lively and Baldoni were not photographed together on the red carpet at the film’s New York premiere on August 6.

The pair gave no interviews together during the press tour and at the London premiere, which Baldoni did not attend, I was warned by Lively’s team “not to ask any questions about Justin”.

Internet detectives also noticed that the cast, including Lively and writer Hoover, did not follow Baldoni on social media.

Neither Lively or Baldoni addressed the feud rumors during the press tour and the only reference to each other was Baldoni telling TODAY that his co-star was a “dynamic creative”.

“He had a hand in every part of this production and everything he touched made (it) better,” he said of the 37-year-old.

Although the film was a box office success, it received mixed reviews from critics with some saying that it romanticizes domestic abuse.

there was Two-star review from Tim Roby of The Telegraphwho called it a “strange drama” that “recasts domestic violence as clever romance”.

He suggested that the film “combines big-city abuse and glittery courtship with deeply questionable implications”.

The film also sparked debate on TikTok, with some saying that it was not clear from the trailer that the story was about an abusive relationship, rather it appeared to tell a love story.

Based on this misconception, some people said they found the film painful because they did not know it contained scenes of domestic abuse.

During the film’s press tour, Baldoni hired a crisis manager, Melissa Nathan, whose previous clients include Johnny Depp and Drake.

Shortly after the press tour, Lively faced criticism on social media regarding her comments on that tour, as well as old interviews.

One of the resurfaced interviews was shared by Norwegian journalist Kjersti Fla, who posted a video of Lively’s interview on YouTube in 2016. It was titled “The Blake Lively interview that inspired me to quit my job.”

Actor Brandon Sklenar, who played Atlas in the film, defended Lively, saying in a post on Instagram People were “condemning” the women involved in the film online,

She said that “it was disappointing to anticipate so much negativity” and someone close to her, who had experienced a similar relationship to Lily, credited the film with “saving her life”.

Four months after the film’s launch, Lively filed a legal complaint Against Mr. Baldoni in which she had accused him of sexual harassment.

The complaint also lists as a defendant Mr. Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios, which produced It End’s With Us.

The legal filing accuses Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jamie Heath of “repeated sexual harassment and other harassing behavior.” The filing alleges that some other female cast and crew also spoke out about his conduct.

It also alleges that Ms. Lively, Mr. Baldoni and others involved in the film’s development attended a meeting in January to address a “hostile work environment” on the set. According to the complaint, her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, attended the meeting with her.

At the meeting, attendees agreed to a list of demands, which included requiring Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath to “not give any further details of their own genitals,” including requiring an intimacy coordinator on the set at all times when Ms. Lively was in the scenes with Mr. Baldoni and not “Friends of the producers and directors were present on the set during the scene when Ms. Lively was in the nude.

The list of demands also implied that Mr. Baldoni had asked Ms. Lively’s trainer how much she weighed and alleged that Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath had told Ms. Lively about his “addiction to pornography.”

In the filing, Ms Lively also alleged that Mr Baldoni and his team attacked her public image after the meeting.

She accused him of planning to “destroy” her reputation in the press and online, including hiring a crisis manager who led a “sophisticated, coordinated and well-financed retaliation plan” against her. Did and used “digital army” to post. Social media content that seemed authentic.

“To avoid the risk of ever revealing the truth about Mr. Baldoni, the Baldoni-Wayfarer team created, planted, and amplified material designed to destroy Mr. Baldoni’s credibility,” Ms. Lively’s team wrote in the filing. And promoted.”

In the filing, Ms Lively says it caused “substantial harm” that affected “all aspects” of her life.

Mr Baldoni’s legal team told the BBC that the allegations are “categorically false” and said they had hired a crisis manager because Ms Lively had threatened to derail the film unless her demands were met.

Responding to the legal complaint, Mr Baldoni’s lawyer, Brian Friedman, said on Saturday: “It is shameful that Ms Lively and her representatives would make such serious and patently false allegations against Mr Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives. “

Mr. Friedman accused Ms. Lively of making numerous demands and threats, including “threatening not to come to the set, threatening not to promote the film,” which would ultimately “lead to her death during release if Their demands were not met.”

Hollywood stars including America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel Publicly supported Lively after she filed her complaint.

Ferrera, Tamblyn and Bledel, who starred with Lively in the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, released a joint statement on Instagram on Sunday saying they “stand with her in solidarity”.

“Throughout the filming of It Ends With Us, we watched her muster the courage to demand a safe workplace for herself and her co-workers on set, and we were appalled by what she described as a premeditated and retaliatory effort to discredit her voice. Shocked to read the evidence.” ” He has written.

It End’s With Us author Colleen Hoover also showed her support, describing Ms Lively as “honest, kind, supportive and patient”.

Additional reporting by Grace Dean.