“Never change. Never wilt.”- It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover sends support to Blake Lively amid actress’ lawsuit against Justin Baldoni
It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover lent her support to Blake Lively amid the actress' s*xual harassment lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni. Lively accused Baldoni of starting a "social manipulation" campaign against her to harm her reputation in the lawsuit filed on Friday, December 20.
In the lawsuit, Lively even alleged that a meeting was held in January to address her claims against Baldoni which included allegations of him showing her images and videos of n*de women.
Hoover took to her Instagram stories on Saturday, December 21, and posted a picture of herself and Blake Lively hugging during the film's screening alongside a link to an article about the claims. Hoover showcased her support by writing on her story:
"@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."
Blake Lively's allegations against Justin Baldoni
As mentioned earlier, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Justin Baldoni of s*xual harassment on December 20, a copy of which was reviewed by The New York Times the following day. Lively accused Wayfarer Studios co-founder and co-chairman Baldoni alongside the studio's CEO Jamey Heath of engaging in "inappropriate and unwelcome" behavior towards her and others on the set of It Ends With Us.
As per the filing, Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and other associates of the film, even held a meeting on January 24 of this year to address various claims against the behavior of Justin Baldoni and Jamey Heath on set.
Lively presented 30 demands to be addressed to studio executives for filming to continue. The complaint was filed with the California Civil Rights Department.
Some of the demands agreed upon by Wayfarer Studios included a curbing of improvised kissing scenes by Baldoni, and a stop to alleged physical, personal, and s*xual comments made by both Baldoni and Heath to Lively, any of her employees, and female cast members without their consent.
Another demand procured from the lawsuit by People magazine also detailed:
"No more adding of s*x scenes, oral s*x or on camera climaxing by [Lively] outside the scope of the script [Lively] approved when signing onto the project."
The complaint alleged that Justin Baldoni would often violate Lively's personal space by entering her trailer without consent, including one time when she was breastfeeding her child.
The complaint also alleged that both Baldoni and Heath often talked about their p*rnography addiction with the actress.
Furthermore, Blake Lively alleged that Justin Baldoni once told her that he didn't take consent from his partners at all times before initiating contact. Additionally, Lively noted in the complaint that Baldoni hired PR specialist Melissa Nathan's company The Agency Group after the January meeting.
The actress claimed that Baldoni and his team carried out a smear campaign against her.
Alleged private texts and emails between Baldoni, studio executives, and third parties were also added to the complaint.
The complaint alleged that the evidence showcased PR representatives planning to do full social media takedowns against Lively, planting threads of theories to change the narrative regarding the actress, and even planting theories talking about Lively's "weaponization of feminism".
As per a report by Us Weekly on December 21, Justin Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman denied the allegations, claiming that the actress made "multiple demands and threats". This allegedly included threats to not show up on set or even promote the movie if her demands weren't met. A December 22 BBC article quoted Freedman as stating:
"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."
In a statement to The New York Times, Blake Lively wrote:
"I hope that my 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."
According to People magazine, the complaint alleged that Blake Lively suffered from "grief, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety" as a result of her experience with Justin Baldoni.
The complaint also noted the extreme emotional impact the situation had on the actress and her family.
