Hollywood actress Blake Lively sued her 'It Ends With Us' co-star and director Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment. Photo: AP
Following Hollywood actress Blake Lively’s bombshell lawsuit against It Ends With Us (2024) co-star and director Justin Baldoni as well as producer Jamey Heath, friends of Lively have come out in support of her.
The suit alleges that they sexually harassed her and orchestrated a smear campaign against her.
The 37-year-old’s co-stars in The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants films (2005 and 2008) – America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel – put out a joint statement on social media on Dec 23 in support of Lively. The four played best friends in the coming-of-age movies.
The trio called Blake their sister and wrote: “As Blake’s friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation.
“Throughout the filming of It Ends With Us, we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice. Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors’ stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding.”
On Dec 20, Lively filed a legal complaint which alleged that Baldoni, 40, and Heath, 55, sexually harassed her during the production of It Ends With Us.
She also claimed that they hired and worked with crisis public relations professionals, including Ms Melissa Nathan, to orchestrate a smear campaign against her for fear of her complaints becoming public.
Ms Nathan’s previous clients include actor Johnny Depp, whose former wife Amber Heard had accused him of physical abuse.
Through a lawyer, Baldoni has denied Lively’s claims.
It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover seemed to side with Lively. In an Instagram Story, she tagged Lively and wrote: “You have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met.”
On Dec 23, she also reposted the joint statement Tamblyn, Ferrera and Bledel put out.
Hoover added: “This statement from these women and Blake’s ability to refuse to sit down and ‘be buried’ has been nothing short of inspiring.”
Lively has suffered a wave of bad press since the film’s release. Netizens deemed her insensitive and tone-deaf when she seemingly failed to bring up the movie’s theme of domestic violence in several interviews.
Criticism of the actress grew after Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa went viral in August for reposting on YouTube a 2016 interview with the actress titled The Blake Lively Interview That Made Me Want To Quit My Job. Many felt that Lively seemed rude and stuck-up during the encounter.
Ms Flaa has denied having anything to do with Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
