Blake Lively has alleged Justin Baldoni ‘cried’ in his dressing room after seeing paparazzi shots of her on the set of It Ends with Us.
On Friday (December 21), 37-year-old Lively filed legal action against the Jane the Virgin actor, 40, alleging sexual harassment and orchestrating a coordinated smear campaign to ‘damage’ her reputation.
Rumours of ‘tension’ between the pair first came to light this summer after Blake and Baldoni wrapped up work on the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel, It Ends with Us.
Baldoni directed and starred in the flick, playing Kyle Kincaid – a neurosurgeon and principal love interest to the lead actress’ character, Lily Blossom Bloom.
It was speculated that the pair had ‘fought’ over the flick’s final cut and that they were ‘avoiding each other like the plague’ at the New York City premiere for the movie.
The mother-of-four has now accused Baldoni of instigating inappropriate conversations, ‘retaliatory or abusive behavior’ and ‘other behaviors that were shocking and emotionally distressing’.
.jpg "Blake Lively alleges Justin Baldoni 'cried for hours in her dressing room' because she didn't look 'hot' 2")
Moreover, the legal filing alleges that an ‘all hands’ meeting was called to address issues ‘that had nearly derailed production of the film’.
As per NBC News, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, were in attendance with Baldoni and executives from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Wayfarer Studios.
In the lawsuit, filed with the California Civil Rights Department, Lively has also alleged that her co-star ‘cried’ in her dressing room over her appearance.
The reported incident is said to have taken place on the second day of filming It Ends with Us, according to the filing.
“Mr. Baldoni made the rest of the cast and crew wait for hours while he cried in Ms. Lively’s dressing room, claiming social media commentators were saying that Ms. Lively looked old and unattractive based on paparazzi photos from the set,” the lawsuit claims, as per TooFab.
“She tried to reassure him that she should look authentic in the scenes depicted in the photos, which were just after her character had been abused by her fictional husband, rather than ‘hot.’”
The Age of Adaline favorite alleges the filmmaker ‘appeared focused’ on her ‘sexual appeal above all else,’ with the lawsuit claiming the ‘lengthy outburst caused a delay in shooting, forcing an emotional scene to be shot haphazardly’.
It’s also alleged that Baldoni ‘routinely degraded’ Lively and ‘went out of his way to message criticisms of her age and weight’.
.jpg "Blake Lively alleges Justin Baldoni 'cried for hours in her dressing room' because she didn't look 'hot' 3")
Responding to the legal complaint, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said: “It is shameful that Ms Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives.”
He accused the Gossip Girl alumna of ‘threatening not to show up to set, threatening to not promote the film’, which would end up, ‘ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met’, as per BBC News.
Meanwhile, Lively said in a statement via her attorneys that she hopes her ‘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.’
UNILAD has previously contacted representatives of Justin Baldoni for further comment.
