While already one of the most divisive movies of the year, It Ends with Us now has a lawsuit attached to it. The romantic drama adapts Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni as Lily and Ryle, a couple who find their burgeoning relationship is troubled by the sudden reappearance of her first love and signs of the domestic abuse from Ryle she saw her parents go through. Also directed by Baldoni, the movie was a box office smash in spite of the fact that It Ends with Us‘ reviews were largely mixed.
Now, nearly two months after finding success on two different streaming platforms, the It Ends with Us controversy is continuing as Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, as per The Hollywood Reporter. The filing indicates that the producer/star is accusing the director/star and his production company Wayfarer Studios for sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, which reportedly escalated to needing an “all-hands-on-deck meeting” to address her concerns.
Everything Reported On Lively’s Lawsuit Against Baldoni
A Damaging Report Also Indicates The Director Was Preparing For This
Sources report that these concerns included “not showing nude videos or images of women to Lively“, “no more mentions of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction’“, “no more discussions about sexual experiences in front of Lively and others“, “no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia“, “no more inquiries about Lively’s weight“, and “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto to the project“.
While the lawsuit reportedly says Wayfarer “embraced and approved” Lively’s “demands“, Baldoni went against the agreement to keep all press promotion focused on “Lily’s strength and resilience“, instead focusing more on the story’s drama in order to “explain why many of the film’s cast and crew unfollowed him on social media“. The suit also goes on to allege that not only did Baldoni and his team use the book’s domestic violence “survivor content” to adjust his public image, but engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” Lively’s.
Around the same time as the suit was reported on, and Baldoni was subsequently dropped by his representation agency, WME, the New York Times published an extensive account of reports from insiders with knowledge of the situation, pulled from “thousands of pages of text messages and emails” Lively obtained per a subpoena, later reviewed by the publication. This begins with Baldoni and lead producer Jamey Heath reportedly hiring crisis public relations expert Melissa Nathan in early August with the intention “to harm Ms. Lively’s reputation“, to which she replied “we can bury anyone“.
Wayfarer’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, subsequently responded with a statement to NYT countering Lively’s claims by saying none of the other parties did anything “proactive nor retaliated“, instead accusing the producer/star of “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation“. Freedman’s statement would go on to state:
These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media. [Ms. Lively planted] negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media [about Mr. Baldoni, which] was another reason why Wayfarer Studios made the decision to hire a crisis professional.
Lively would also release a statement as part of her lawsuit against Baldoni, in which she denied that she or anyone on her team “planted or spread negative information about Mr. Baldoni or Wayfarer“, while also going on to express her hopes that the lawsuit will “pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics“:
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.
The report goes on to claim that while Lively initially began feeling comfortable on set after the tense meeting, she worked with Sony to create her own cut of It Ends with Us, which included bringing in new editors, a composer and adding a Taylor Swift song. The studio and Wayfarer ultimately elected to go with her cut of the film and gave her a producer credit.
At the start of Baldoni and his team working with Nathan, she reportedly suggested a number of media talking points, “including that Ms. Lively used an imbalance of power to take creative control of the film“, only for the director/star to push for more, referring to a social media thread in which a celebrity accused another of bullying behavior and generated 19 million views. The team also reportedly had spoken with an editor at The Daily Mail about the possibility of planting pieces “of how horrible Blake is to work with“.
The report goes on to note the backlash Lively would face throughout It Ends with Us‘ promotion, though also notes that it’s “impossible to know how much of the negative publicity was seeded” by Baldoni and his team, with the group instead consistently texting each other their excitement over the criticism being directed her way. A text from Nathan to Jennifer Abel, another public relations executive, read:
And socials are really really ramping up. In his favour, she must be furious. It’s actually sad because it just shows you have people really want to hate on women.
Subsequent text exchanges also show that Baldoni went through a range of emotions about the reported smear campaign, ranging from suggesting spinning a positive story about Lively and Ryan Reynolds against the duo to worrying people will figure out their involvement and concerns of bot accounts being used for their objectives. Nathan did assure the director/star that bots were not being used, as a digital PR team would be “too intelligent to ‘utilise something so obvious.’” Nathan even took credit for the Daily Mail story published on August 16 entitled “Is Blake Lively set to be CANCELLED?”, calling herself “the best” and asking Abel “that’s why you hired me, right?“.
A report acquired by NYT from brand marketing consultant Terakeet also seemingly confirmed that Lively was the subject of “a targeted, multichannel online attack” that was meant to damage her reputation. The data from the report stated that 35% of Google search results with Lively’s name included a reference to Baldoni, something the company says is “highly unusual given the length of her career” and that it “suggested that the media environment was being manipulated.”
What This Means For It Ends With Us
The Movie’s Legacy May Very Well Be Further Tarnished
With Lively’s legal complaint against Baldoni having only just been submitted, there’s still a long road ahead for whom the public will ultimately side with. As the NYT report also notes, one of Nathan’s previous clients was Johnny Depp, working with the star during his highly publicized divorce from Amber Heard and her accusations of domestic violence. Terakeet‘s reports also indicated that the data surrounding Lively was akin to that of Heard amid the trial, in which public opinion frequently swayed between the two actors.
Related
It Ends With Us Cast Drama Explained: What’s Going On With Blake Lively’s New Movie?
An adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, the Blake Lively-led It Ends with Us has been plagued by rumors of behind-the-scenes cast drama.
Regardless of what’s to come from Lively and Baldoni’s legal battle, it does seemingly put a final nail in the coffin for It Ends with Us‘ potential legacy. A large reason behind the movie’s mixed reception has been its depiction of domestic violence, with some feeling that, much like the book, it romanticizes the connection between its central characters rather than spotlighting the toxicity of their relationship. Combined with the heavy marketing push of it being in the romance genre and featuring many erotic scenes, it clearly struck a nerve, albeit not necessarily a good one.
With Baldoni and Lively’s previously reported feud now escalating to a proper legal complaint filed against the director, It Ends with Us‘ legacy will also now be tarnished by the fact that Hoover’s sequel book won’t be adapted by the same team. Baldoni and Wayfarer hold the rights to It Starts with Us, and even prior to the first movie’s release, he stated in an interview that Lively should direct it rather than him. However, if the two find themselves not coming to an amicable conclusion, It Ends with Us may similarly find its memory ending with Baldoni and Lively’s conflicts.
Sources: THR & NY Times
Your changes have been saved
My List
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel, It Ends With Us is a drama-romance film directed by Justin Baldoni. The film follows a recent college graduate named Lily, who meets a man named Ryle and falls in love with him. However, a traumatic incident compounded with her former high-school sweetheart re-entering her life complicates her plans.
Release Date
August 9, 2024
Runtime
130 Minutes
Cast
Blake Lively
, Justin Baldoni
, Brandon Sklenar
, Jenny Slate
, Hasan Minhaj
, Amy Morton
, Kevin McKidd
, Isabela Ferrer
, Alex Neustaedter
, Robert Clohessy
, Robyn Lively
, Megan Robinson
, Robin S. Walker
, Emily Baldoni
, Adam Mondschein
, Caroline Siegrist
, Steve Monroe
, Daphne Zelle
Character(s)
Lily Bloom
, Ryle Kincaid
, Atlas Corrigan
, Allysa
, Marshall
, Jenny Bloom
, Andrew Bloom
, Young Lily Bloom
, Young Atlas Corrigan
, Sheriff
, Ms. Byland
, Ms. Smith
, Doctor Johnson
, Doctor Julie
, Doctor Dunbar
, Katie
, Realtor
, Female Waiter
Director
Justin Baldoni
Writers
Christy Hall
, Colleen Hoover
Studio(s)
Columbia Pictures
, Wayfarer Studios
, Saks Picture Company
Distributor(s)
Sony Pictures Releasing
Expand