On December 21, Blake Lively filed a complaint against Justin Baldoni, her on-screen co-star in “It Ends With Us.” She accuses him of sexual harassment and of having orchestrated a smear campaign against her, led by Johnny Depp's public relations manager. Accusations supported by an investigation published by the New York Times.
“It looks like Amber Heard”: Blake Lively files a complaint for sexual harassment against a famous actor and despite the evidence Internet users do not believe her
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When reality meets fiction. The Blake Lively case against Justin Baldoni has just taken a new turn. Since the release of the film “Jamais Plus” (in English “It Ends With Us”), on August 14, we talked more about the disagreement between Lively and Baldoni, both headliners, he director and she co-producer of the film. Too bad, since it addresses the highly important subject of domestic violence and its hereditary dimension.
Criticism against Blake Lively
Since the film's release, we've been talking about the fact that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni don't get along. At one point, we even talked about the fact that the latter accused him and Jamey Heath, another producer of the film, of inappropriate comments and behavior. But strangely, this episode did not generate much ink. Not as much as the criticism against the 37-year-old actress that we talked to you about in this article. Now we know why.
Blake Lively was heavily criticized for the tone considered too light with which she promoted “Never again”. We see her again calling on viewers to put on their most beautiful floral outfits to go see the film. She was also widely singled out for taking advantage of the film's promotion to promote her Betty Buzz drink brand. In the process, numerous testimonies from journalists who interviewed her or members of film sets who worked with her emerged, depicting her as a contemptuous and “odious” celebrity. We reported this information ourselves in this article.
Justin Baldoni accused of sexual harassment
If Blake Lively's behavior in an interview remains questionable, with supporting images, for the rest, it is now proven that the actress was the subject of a sabotage campaign. She also filed a complaint against Justin Baldoni on December 21accusing him of sexual harassment and of having orchestrated this campaign aimed at “destroying” his reputation.
The actress's complaint is no less than 80 pages long. She reports there kisses imposed by his colleague as well as awkward discussions about the actor's sex life. In particular, he allegedly admitted to having had intimate relations with women without obtaining their consent. The actress also states that Jamey Heath, producer of the film, allegedly watched her changing in her dressing room and allegedly showed him naked photos of his wife.
For the scene in the film where she gives birth and where she is therefore very exposed in front of the camera, the actress says that Baldoni would have called on his best friend to play the gynecologist in charge of giving birth and not a professional actor.
The New York Times investigation
The same day Blake Lively filed the complaint, the New York Times published an investigation supporting his accusations. In its article, the newspaper explains how the actress organized a meeting during filming, in the presence of her husband Ryan Reynolds, during which she allegedly denounced “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Justin Baldoni. To protect herself, she made 30 very specific requests, such as no longer having to improvise kissing scenes or sex scenes not planned in the script with Justin Baldoni. She also reportedly claimed the presence of an intimacy coordinator for these scenes. The actress also reportedly asked that we no longer talk about pornography or personal sexual experiences in her presence.
The parallel with the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp affair
These requests would have been accepted by the director and other professionals present on the set. At Lively's request, they even committed in writing not to make her pay. But in the process, the Times reports that Baldoni and Heath hired a press secretary to handle crisis situationsMelissa Nathan.
Melissa Nathan is known for representing the likes of Johnny Depp. Interesting when we know that in the case between the actor and his ex-wife, Amber Heard, who accused him of domestic violence, the latter paid the price for sexist media treatment and a wave of hatred on social networks. Chance ?
Also read: Amber Heard would be the most hated star in the world (and it's a real social issue)
Who is Melissa Nathan?
In its investigation, the Times revealed screenshots of messages and emails exchanged between Melissa Nathan and other members of the team managing Baldoni's press relations. One of them proves that she presented an initial plan to destroy Lively's reputation and that Baldoni asked for it to be taken further. A publicist who worked with Baldoni wrote to Melissa Nathan: “he wants to feel that she can be buried”. She replied: “you know we can bury anyone, but I can’t write that to them.”
In another conversation, she said that she managed to have all the accusations against Baldoni removed from the articles that were going to be published. “He doesn't realize how lucky he is, she wrote before listing the accusations in question. The fact that he whispered sexual remarks in her ear, the fact that other members of the film crew felt uncomfortable watching it, there are so many.” Accusations found in the complaint filed by Lively.
A sabotage campaign against Blake Lively
According to the Times, Melissa Nathan also mobilized a team responsible, among other things, for demolishing accounts on social networksto influence audiences and launch threads of theories against Lively. Everything for “change the narrative” inspired by the actress's accusations against Baldoni. “They are seized and amplified” the criticisms against Blake Lively, underlines Megan Twohey, the journalist who investigated the case.
As a reminder, Megan Twohey is one of the two journalists who helped reveal the Harvey Weinstein affair, this Hollywood mogul accused of rape or sexual assault by more than 80 women, including several celebrities. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison on March 11, 2020.
@nytimes As the movie “It Ends With Us” became a box office success, online criticism of Blake Lively skyrocketed. A New York Times review of private messages and documents shows what happened after she accused Justin Baldoni, her co-star and the director, and Jamey Heath, the lead producer, of misconduct on set. Megan Twohey, our investigative reporter, explains the inner workings of an alleged Hollywood smear campaign that followed. Read the full investigation at the link in our bio. Video by Megan Twohey, Gabriel Blanco, Laura Salaberry, Rebecca Suner and Claire Hogan / The New York Times #BlakeLively #JustinBaldoni #ItEndsWithUs #IEWU #ItEndsWithUsMovie #Hollywood ♬ original sound – The New York Times
Manipulation of social networks
On how Blake Lively promoted the film, The Times reveals that the actress simply followed Sony's instructionsthe production box. According to the newspaper, Sony had signed off on a plan that told the cast members that they should focus not on the domestic violence but on the lighter side of the film. Screenshots of messages exchanged by Baldoni's public relations team show that she actively used criticism leveled against the actress on this subject to support her “narrative.”
Emails shown by the Times explicitly speak of “social media manipulation.” They show that Baldoni's team intentionally highlighted and boosted negative comments about Blake Lively and on the contrary boosted positive comments about Baldoni. In a message, Melissa Nathan writes on this subject: “social networks are gaining momentum in her favor, she must be furious. Deep down, It's really sad because it shows how much people really want to hate women.“.
“Articles spreading rumors, tabloids, strategic interviews… there are plenty of methods used for a long time to influence the popularity or not of a celebrity, explains the Times journalist. But this story reveals a new method for initiating a campaign of large-scale denigration in the digital air.”
Justin Baldoni denies the facts
Bryan Freedman, Justin Baldonie's lawyer, said Blake Lively's accusations “are completely false” et “scandalous”. “These accusations are intentionally salacious with the aim of causing public harm and rehashing a narrative in the media”he added. According to him, Baldoni had hired a public relations team because of “multiple demands and threats made by Blake Lively during filming”. Faced with the complaint filed by Blake Lively, the agency that managed Justin Baldoni's career has decided to end their collaboration.
For her part, Blake Lively also spoke in a press release sent to the New York Times. “I hope my legal action helps to shed light on these sinister retaliatory tactics aimed at harming those who speak out about wrongdoing and protecting others who may be targeted.”she said.
Internet users' denial
Despite all this evidence, the sabotage work of Baldoni's team still proves its effectiveness. On social networks, Internet users continue to think that Blake Lively is lying. “Did she learn nothing from the Amber Heard affair?” ; “It’s time to cancel” ; “She disappoints me so much. She tried to tarnish her reputation, then it backfired, and now she wants to play the victim“we can read under the publication of the tabloid TMZ.
Celebrity support
However, some celebrities have spoken out to show their support for Blake Lively. After the revelation of the complaint filed by the actress, Colleen Hoover, the author of the novel from which the film was based, published in her Instagram story : “@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met, the author said. Thank you for being true to yourself. Never change. Don't never let it wither.”
America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, the actresses who play alongside Lively in the saga Four girls and jeans (2005 and 2008), published a joint statement on Instagram. “As Blake's friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand in solidarity with her as she fights against the campaign to destroy her reputation. Throughout the filming of Never Again, we watched her muster up the courage to demand a safe workplace for her and her colleagues on set, and we are dismayed to read evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that served to discredit her voice.”
Amy Schumer simply declared in his Instagram story: “I believe Blake.”. For his part, Gwyneth Paltrow expressed her support for the actress by promoting Blake Lively's hair care products. “I just added this to my Christmas list”she published in her Instagram story, with a queen emoji. And you ?
