It Ends With Us studio Sony Pictures has come out in support of Blake Lively amid her legal proceedings against costar and director Justin Baldoni. Lively has accused the latter of sexual harassment and executing a smear campaign against her.
A spokesperson for Sony Pictures stated on Monday afternoon to Variety, just after SAG-AFTRA also declared their support for the actress:
"We have previously expressed our support for Blake in connection with her work on and for the film. We fully and firmly reiterate that support today. Further, we strongly condemn any reputational attacks on her. Any such attacks have no place in our business or in a civil society.”
Justin Baldoni faces mounting tensions as support for Blake Lively grows: Here's what's happened so far
The allegations were first reported by The New York Times just this weekend, and they accuse Baldoni of creating an unsafe working environment. Lively also contends that Baldoni colluded with a crisis PR to tarnish her public reputation.
The complaint, filed at California’s Civil Rights Department, also names Baldoni's company Wayfarer Studios, co-founder James Heath, and more as defendants.
She claims that his behavior left her and her family with “severe emotional harm.” In response, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman rubbished Lively's claims as nothing but “shameful” and “categorically false accusations.”
In a statement to Us Weekly, he called Lively’s claims “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious,” noting that it is an attempt to “fix her negative reputation."
Sony's support for the Gossip Girl alum follows her co-star, Brandon Sklenar's solidarity on Instagram. He captioned the story "For the love of God read this,” and tagged Blake Lively with a red heart emoji. As for SAG-AFTRA, here's what they said:
"These are startling and troubling allegations. Employees have every right to raise issues of concern or to file complaints. Retaliation for reporting misconduct or inappropriate behavior is illegal and wrong. We applaud Blake Lively’s courage in speaking out on issues of retaliation and harassment and for her request to have an intimacy coordinator for all scenes with nudity or sexual content. This is an important step that helps ensure a safe set.”
Just this Monday, Baldoni's Man Enough podcast host Liz Plank also revealed that she will be leaving the series, as she took to social media to issue a statement:
"We all deserve better, and I know that together, we can create it. I will have more to share soon as I continue to process everything that has happened. In the meantime, I will continue to support everyone who calls out injustice and holds the people standing in their way accountable.”
The author of the book It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover, also uploaded a photo of herself and Blake Lively hugging, noting,
“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.”
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Following the accusations, on December 21, Baldoni was let go from his agency WME. They also represent Blake Lively and her husband, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds. Women's non-profit Vital Voices has also decided to take back the award they presented to Baldoni just last week, the Voices of Solidarity Award.
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