Blake Lively alleges Justin Baldoni made other women uncomfortable on set of "It Ends with Us"

CBS News

19-02-2025

Blake Lively was not alone in her feelings about Justin Baldoni's alleged conduct while making the film "It Ends with Us," according to the amended complaint filed Tuesday in New York. The actor alleged that her costar and the film's director made other women uncomfortable on set and their concerns were documented, the complaint said.
The amended complaint from Lively's legal team included new allegations against Baldoni and his business partner, Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Health. It described an alleged incident in 2023 — after Lively said she reported experiencing "unwelcome and uncomfortable behavior" to various leads on the movie — where another woman in the cast "reported her own concerns regarding Mr. Baldoni's unwelcome behavior" and the ways in which she saw it hurting the film.
Baldoni apparently responded to the cast member, whose name doesn't appear in the lawsuit, soon afterward, according to the document. He apparently acknowledged in writing his awareness of the cast member's concerns and indicated things would change, but according to the amended lawsuit they didn't. The complaint referenced another woman in the cast who later told Lively she felt uncomfortable on set, too.
"Ms. Lively was not alone in raising allegations of on-set misconduct more than a year before the Film was edited," said Lively's attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, in a statement. The attorneys said their amended complaint contains evidence to support that accusation "as well as evidence detailing the threats, harassment, and intimidation of not just Ms. Lively, but numerous innocent bystanders that have followed defendants' retaliatory campaign."
Lively and Baldoni have been embroiled in a widely publicized legal battle since December, when the New York Times published her sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni. She also alleged that Baldoni retaliated after she spoke up about what happened on set. Baldoni has since sued the newspaper and Lively for defamation, seeking $400 million from her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.
Lively's accusations against Baldoni have partly centered on his alleged use of retaliation tactics to discourage the actor from speaking up by turning public opinion against her. The amended complaint suggested the retaliatory efforts have devolved into "dangerously extreme" acts of cyberbullying, harassment and intimidation, allegedly directed not only toward just Lively, but also toward her family, others in the cast of "It Ends with Us" and some witnesses.
"The culture of fear, intimidation, harassment and threats is the predictable result of an incessant digital campaign to turn social media sentiment as dark and negative as is humanly possible," a spokesperson for Lively said in a statement Wednesday.
Jed Wallace, the owner of crisis public relations firm Street Relations, was also introduced as a defendant in Lively's lawsuit in the amended version. Wallace, who was named in an initial civil rights complaint Lively filed in California prior to suing Baldoni, has been accused of helping orchestrate an alleged smear campaign to damage Lively's reputation and disincentivize her from speaking out. He has denied Lively's allegations and recently filed a defamation suit of his own against her.
Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, characterized the amended complaint from Lively as "unsubstantial hearsay of unnamed persons."
"Since documents do not lie and people do, the upcoming depositions of those who initially supported Ms. Lively's false claims and those who are witnesses to her own behavior will be enlightening. What is truly uncomfortable here is Ms. Lively's lack of actual evidence," Freedman told CBS News in a statement.
Lively's attorneys said they would work to dismiss both defamation suits against her. The first trial with Baldoni is set for March 2026.