Justin Baldoni states his It ends with us actress Blake Lively didn’t read Colleen Hoover’s bestseller on which the movie is based because he sued her and others for $400 million.
In the 179-page lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York on Thursday, Jan. 16, attorneys for Baldoni (who also directed the film), 40, plus producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan allege that Lively made “wrong creative decisions” that “reflect her fundamental lack of understanding of the book on which the film is based.”
“This came as no surprise to her concerned colleagues, given that, even deep into production, Lively had not even read the book,” the actress’ (37) lawsuit states.
A text message from Baldoni to Heath included in the lawsuit states that the creative team read and re-read Hoover’s novel and then “combined scenes to increase the stakes for” Baldoni’s character Ryle Kincaid “in search of” Lively’s character Lily Bloom, ” using humor and his desire to sleep with her.”
“While I understand Blake’s reasons for not wanting to read the book, the book does a very good job of getting into Lily’s mind during her interactions with Ryle and laying out the WHY behind her attraction to him, which ultimately helps us understand why she stays at the end,” the message reads. attached to the lawsuit.
Both book and film versions It ends with us follows Lily Bloom (Lively) as she embarks on a romance with Ryle (Baldoni), but over time his violent side emerges.
Justin Baldoni in New York on August 6, 2024; Blake Lively in London on August 8, 2024.
James Devaney/GC Images; Ian West/PA Images via Getty
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Back in April 2024, Lively told PEOPLE of her character in a statement accompanying an exclusive first look at the film, “Lily resonated with a huge number of people, as the success of the book made clear. To step into a character that has had such an honor is to take significant impact.”
“I loved Lily. And I hope that love is felt by those who care about her as much as I do, and by those who meet her for the first time in this film,” she added.
As for Lively as Lily, Baldoni described the actress to PEOPLE at the time as “strong, witty and intelligent — everything you want in a female heroine.”
“There is no part of this production that she did not touch or influence. And everything she got her hands on and thought of, she made better”, he added at the time.
But in the new lawsuit — filed by Baldoni and his team not only against Lively, but also against her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s PR firm Vision PR, Inc. – prosecutors claim that Livelyn’s involvement in the film demonstrated a “need for control.”
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Blake Lively inside It ends with us (2024).
Nicole Rivelli
According to the submission, Gossip Girl alum “wasn’t just satisfied with the title of one of the biggest movies of the year,” according to prosecutors. “Instead, apparently driven by too much ambition and a need for control, Lively ultimately used her power as a wealthy celebrity to wrest the reins from her co-star and film director, Baldoni.”
The lawsuit further alleges that Lively, who also served as an executive producer on the project, “insisted on complete control over every aspect of the film she could lay her hands on, from wardrobe to marketing strategy to music, even creating her own clip.” movie,” stating that her “power play cost a lot of people their jobs.”
In her first filing, dated December 20, 2024, Lively alleged that Baldoni exhibited “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on set that led to a “hostile work environment.”
Lively’s complaint included allegations that Baldoni and producer Heath entered her trailer “uninvited” while she was unclothed or “vulnerable” and allegedly Baldoni “suddenly” pressured her to “simulate full nudity” in the birth scene and “improvised physical intimacy that She was not rehearsed, choreographed or spoken to by Ms. Lively, without an intimacy coordinator involved.”
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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni attend It ends with us Premiere in New York.
Gotham/WireImage (2)
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Her complaint further alleged that following the experience and the alleged smear campaign against her, Lively “suffered from grief, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety.”
In a statement amid the new lawsuit, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, said the filing is “a legal proceeding based on a massive amount of tampered evidence detailing a two-faced attempt by Blake Lively and her team to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their individual companies by spreading roughly edited, unsubstantiated, new and falsified information to the media.”
“Ms. Lively will never again be allowed to continue to exploit real victims of real harassment solely for her own personal gain at the expense of those without power,” Freedman continued in part. “We know the truth, and now the public knows it too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide, the documents don’t lie.”
A representative for Lively did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new lawsuit.
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Source: HIS Education