Numerous celebrities have offered their support to Blake Lively after she filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, who is accused of sexual harassment and causing “severe emotional distress”.
The lawsuit states there was a meeting attended by individuals including Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, Baldoni and their lawyers, to address The Age of Adeline star’s claims, per TMZ.
Lively had a number requirements in order for her to work on the film that – according to the lawsuit cited by the outlet – included “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.”
The New York Times has also published alleged text messages from Baldoni, who has since been dropped by his agency, suggesting that he had orchestrated a smear campaign against Lively.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman has 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, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film.”
In the wake of the revelations against Baldoni, Lively has received an outpouring of support from various famous faces.
Colleen Hoover
The author of It Ends With Us, has supported Lively amid the claims against Baldoni. In a post to her Instagram stories, Hoover wrote: “@blakelively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met.
“Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
Robyn Lively
Blake Lively’s sister Robyn has responded to the sexual harassment lawsuit that the Gossip Girl actor filed against Baldoni.
“FINALLY justice for my sister @BlakeLively,” the older Lively wrote on her Instagram Stories, highlighting specific sentences and phrases from the New York Times article. She then encouraged her followers to read the article in a follow-up post as she linked the article and wrote “Blake Lively” with a heart drawn around the name.
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America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel
America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel – Blake Lively’s longtime friends and co-stars on Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants –released a joint statement on social media in support of the It Ends With Us actor.
The joint statement of support from the cast of the 2005 coming-of-age comedy-drama was posted on Instagram and stated that the actors “stand with” Lively “in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation”.
“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,” the statement read.
“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.
“We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment. We are inspired by our sister’s courage to stand up for herself and others.”
The statement ended with a call to look up the full complaint and was signed by Ferrera, Tamblyn, and Bledel.
Gwyneth Paltrow
In a subtle show of support for Lively, Paltrow shared an image of the star’s Blake Brown haircare line on her Instagram stories, adding: “Just added to my Christmas wish list”.
The Sliding Doors actor punctuated the endorsement with a queen emoji.
Amy Schumer
The Trainwreck actor gave a short seal of approval to Lively after the news broke. The 43-year-old simply wrote on her Instagram stories: “I believe Blake.”
Deadline notes that Schumer’s support for Lively is significant as she has previously mocked the actor on her Inside Amy Schumer sketch show and said that the two are “not close friends”.
Paul Feig
Feig, who directed Lively in the 2018 comedy A Simple Favor and it’s upcoming sequel, voiced his support for the star on X/Twitter.
The 62-year-old wrote: “I’ve now made two movies with Blake and all I can say is she’s one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with. She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s awful she was put through this.”
Shawn Levy
The Canadian director, who worked with Lively on Deadpool and Wolverine, shared a link to the New York Times story on Instagram, adding that he was “Proud to call Blake Lively a friend.”
Alex Saks
Saks worked as a producer on It Ends With Us. She also shared her support for Lively by posting a link to the New York Times article on Instagram.