Blake Lively accuses Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, responded to Blake Lively's complaint in a statement to Variety. He called the lawsuit “shameful” and full of “categorically false allegations.”

According to the complaint filed with the California Department of Civil Rights, during the production of It Ends With Us a meeting was held to address Lively's claims and her requests to work on the film. The actress's husband, Ryan Reynolds, would attend the meeting.

Some of the requests addressed allegedly included “no longer show videos or images of naked women to Blake, no longer mention Baldoni's alleged former 'pornography addiction', no longer discuss sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no longer mention the genitals of the cast and crew, stop asking about Blake's weight and stop mentioning Blake's dead father.”

Blake Lively he would also have demanded that Baldoni no longer add “sex scenes, oral sex or orgasms in front of the camera” outside of what was in the film script that he had approved before filming began. The film's distributor, Sony Pictures, approved the actress' requests, according to the complaint, but Baldoni attempted to engage in “social manipulation” and launched a campaign to “destroy” Lively's reputation afterward.

Blake Lively he told the New York Times:

I hope my legal action helps expose these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who report bad behavior and helps protect those who may be targeted

It is shameful that Ms. Blake Lively and her representatives have made such serious and categorically false allegations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as another desperate attempt to 'correct' the negative reputation that has been accumulated from his own observations and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activity that were publicly observed, in real time and without editing, which allowed the Internet to generate its own views and opinions – reads Freedman's statement to Variety regarding the complaint.

These statements are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with the intent to cause public harm and re-propose a narrative in the media,” Freedman continues. Wayfarer Studios made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the film's marketing campaign, to work alongside its representative with Jonesworks employed by Stephanie Jones, due to multiple requests and threats made by Ms. Blake Lively during production ,

including threatening not to show up on set, threatening not to promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release if his demands were not met. It was also discovered that Ms. Lively enlisted her representative, Leslie Sloan with Vision PR, who also represents Mr. Reynolds, to plant negative and completely fabricated and false stories with the media, even before any marketing for the film, which was another reason why Wayfarer Studios made the decision to hire a crisis professional to begin internal scenario planning in case they were faced with

Representatives from Wayfarer Studios have not yet done anything proactive or retaliated, and have only responded to incoming media requests to ensure balanced, factual reporting and monitor social media activity. What is conspicuously missing from the selected correspondence is evidence that no proactive measures were taken with the media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize, which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals

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