Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, her fellow actor and director in “It Ends with Us.” She claims he sexually harassed her, following stories of their disagreements while making the movie.
Here’s some background on the 40-year-old actor and director.
Justin Baldoni was born in Los Angeles in 1984 and grew up in Medford, Oregon. His parents are Sharon and Sam Baldoni. His mom works as a Feng Shui designer, as shown on her Instagram. His dad used to run Baldoni Entertainment, a marketing company in the entertainment business before he started working as a producer on Justin’s projects like “My Last Days” and “Clouds.”
Justin Baldoni follows the Baháʼí faith and often posts about his religious beliefs on social media.
He started his acting career in 2004 on “The Young and the Restless.” From there, he acted in shows like “Heroes” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.” He also created a show called “Man Enough” that talks about modern masculinity.
In 2013, he married Emily Foxler, who now uses the name Emily Baldoni when acting. She has appeared in TV shows like “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.” She also played Doctor Julie in “It Ends With Us” alongside her husband and Blake Lively.
Both Justin and Emily appeared in “Jane the Virgin,” where Justin played Rafael Solano from 2014 to 2019 – his most famous role to date.
In 2013, Justin helped start Wayfarer Entertainment, the company that made “It Ends With Us.”
During the making of “It Ends With Us,” which is based on Colleen Hoover’s book, there were stories about problems between Lively and Baldoni. Business Insider noted that Baldoni missed many press events with the cast, and they weren’t seen together at the movie’s premiere.
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According to messages shared, Abel messaged Nathan saying he wanted to spread negative stories about Blake before any issues came up. Nathan agreed and mentioned having a journalist contact ready to help.
There have been rumors about problems between Bieber and Selena Gomez, who used to date Justin Bieber. In September 2022, Bieber talked about this on the Call Her Daddy podcast, saying she would never interfere with someone’s relationship and that she has no issues with Gomez.
In her legal filing in California, which comes before a discrimination lawsuit, Lively said she experienced deep distress and worry due to Baldoni’s private actions. The filing states these issues have deeply affected both her and her family, including her husband and four children.
The complaint states that the team working on It Ends with Us, including Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds, met to talk about how Baldoni was treating the former Gossip Girl star. They set rules saying there should be no unplanned kissing scenes, and that Baldoni and Heath needed clear permission before making any physical contact or sexual comments to Lively, her staff, or any women working on the film.
They also banned adding any new intimate scenes or content beyond what Lively had agreed to in the original script. While Baldoni and the filmmakers accepted these terms, Lively claims he then tried to harm her reputation through careful social tactics.
Sony Pictures and Wayfarer Studios, co-chaired and co-founded by Justin Baldoni, have been named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The complaint also claims that Baldoni’s publicists allegedly planned a smear campaign against Lively. This reportedly included spreading stories accusing her of using “weaponized feminism” and pointing out that people in her circle, like Taylor Swift, have faced similar accusations of using such tactics to “bully” for personal gain.
When these rumors spread, many people criticized Lively. Fans of the movie turned against the former “Gossip Girl” actress, saying she was hard to work with.
Now, Lively has sued Baldoni, claiming he sexually harassed her, tried to get back at her, and broke their contract. She says he caused her emotional harm and tried to hurt her public image after the movie came out. Baldoni’s lawyer says these claims aren’t true and are just trying to cause drama.