Blake Lively accuses ‘It Ends With Us’ costar Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment, reputational retaliation, which he denies

Blake Lively has accused her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation in a civil rights complaint, alleging he and his team designed a “plan” to “destroy” her reputation.

Blake Lively has accused her “It Ends With Us” costar and director Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation in a civil rights complaint, alleging he and his team designed a “plan” to “destroy” her reputation. In a complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department on Friday and obtained by The New York Times, Lively claims that during filming of “It Ends With Us,” a meeting was held to address a “hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production.” Lively raised concerns about “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior by Mr. Baldoni.” The complaint states that her husband, actor and producer Ryan Reynolds, was present at the meeting, serving as Lively’s chosen representative. According to the complaint, the parties “discussed in detail the inappropriate conduct that Ms. Lively, her employees and other cast and crew experienced at the hands of Mr. Baldoni” and a producer for the film, Jamey Heath. They agreed at the time that Lively and employees would no longer be shown nude videos or images of women, there would be no further mention of the pair’s purported pornography addictions, “no more descriptions of their own genitalia” and no more disparaging comments would be made to Lively or her employees, per the complaint. They also agreed that an intimacy coordinator would be present at all times when Lively was on set in scenes with Baldoni. “It Ends With Us” is based on Colleen Hoover’s hit 2016 novel of the same name and centers around domestic violence in a couple, which was portrayed on-screen by Lively and Baldoni. The complaint, a precursor to a lawsuit, names Baldoni as a defendant, as well as his production company Wayfarer Studios, his publicist, Heath and a crisis public relations manager, among others. Lively, also a producer on the film, “seeks to set the record straight, to hold the Wayfarer Parties and Associates accountable, and to shine a light on this new form of retaliation so that it will not be used against any others who seek to stand up and speak out against sexual harassment,” according to the complaint.