The controversy surrounding “It Ends with Us” is heating up.
The film had all the hallmarks of a Hollywood smash. Blake Lively, the A-list actress. Justin Baldoni is her co-star, director, and one of the most outspoken actors in the industry. Colleen Hoover, bestselling author, and first film adaptation.
A rift between Lively, Baldoni, and the press caused the tour to be halted when it was released early in August. The film was still a hit for Sony Pictures, earning $148 million in box office revenue.
The gripping story of the film revolves around Lily Blossom Bloom, a florist (Lively) who falls in love with Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon (Baldoni), and reconnects to her childhood sweetheart Atlas Corrigan. The film deals with domestic abuse disturbingly.
A complaint filed on Saturday sheds new light on the feud between Lively and Baldoni. According to Lively’s attorneys, Baldoni’s attempt to “destroy’ the ‘Gossip Girls’ alumnus’ career was orchestrated for him to conceal his abuse while trying to “destroy’ Lively.
Fans speculated behind the scenes about an apparent rift that existed between Lively, Baldoni, and their respective press junkets. They also appeared on separate red carpets.
Lively’s lawsuit includes explosive allegations, including that Baldoni ignored sexual consent in the past to his PR staff by writing in text messages that they could “bury anyone.”
For comment, we reached out to Bryan Freedman’s lawyer, the highly-respected entertainment lawyer.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni avoided each other during a press tour
Fans noticed that there were no photos of the entire cast at the New York City premiere on August 6, “It Ends with Us”.
Lively was pictured with her fellow A-lister and husband Ryan Reynolds (who joined the film’s press junket, Reynolds’ co-star and family friend Hugh Jackman, plus co-stars Jenny Slate and Sklenar.
Baldoni raised eyebrows though when he walked down the red carpet with his wife Emily Baldoni and friends and family, without any of his co-stars.
People magazine reported that Baldoni, the director of the movie and the star, did not introduce the film before the screening, even though he was the star and the director. The film was released on August 9th, three days later.
Blake Lively’s complaint alleges Justin Baldoni conspired with PR team
Baldoni, with the producer Jamey Heath, hired a team of PR professionals to counter Lively’s private accusations of harassment through a public spear-campaign.
Lively claimed that Baldoni had engaged in sexually predatory behavior. She wrote in her complaint that other cast and crew of “It Ends with Us,” “experienced unwelcome and unprofessional behavior.”
Baldoni worked with Jennifer Abel who is listed in the complaint, as an experienced publicist, to work on a plan of action against Lively’s potential claims. The Agency Group, owned by Hybe America and part-owned Scooter Braun who has been feuding with Lively’s friend Taylor Swift for years, is owned by Hybe America.
Lively’s online reputation suffered a backlash during the release of the film. Content creators and social media users accused her of focusing on her own brand instead of advocating for the prevention of domestic violence. Lively claims that this plan was created by a Baldoni-hired PR team.
The filing states that “What the public didn’t know is that Mr. Baldoni did this in an attempt to explain why some of the film’s cast and crew unfollowed him on social media and weren’t appearing with him publicly.”
In the complaint, filed with the California Civil Rights Department as a precursor to a lawsuit, her lawyers say that Lively and Reynolds “unfollowed Baldoni’s social media accounts” nearly a year before.
What is astroturfing? The complaint alleges PR team engaged in “astroturfing”
Nathan allegedly planned to spread false stories about Lively to influence the public during the film’s promotional campaign.
In the filing, Nathan is accused of proposing “astroturfing”, which is described as “the practice or publishing opinions or comments in the media, on the Internet, etc.” The filing alleges that Nathan proposed the process of “astroturfing” which was described in the filing as “the practice of publishing opinions or comments on the internet, in media, etc.”
In the complaint, Baldoni’s team is accused of planting stories in order to “shift” narratives to support the actor. Abel and Nathan exchanged texts when Daily Mail ran a story under the headline, Is Blake Lively about to be CANCELLED? Following a ‘tone-deaf’ Q&A, ‘hard to view’ videos have been released to promote “It Ends with Us.”
Abel commented, “You’ve outdone yourself with this piece.” Nathan replied, “That is why you hired me.” “I’m the best.”
The complaint alleges that Abel conspired with Sara Nathan (an editor-at-large for the New York Post) to spread negative stories, including one published in the Post-owned tabloid Page Six with the headline “Blake Lively accepted final cut of It Ends with Us” amid a feud with director Justin Baldoni, who is Blake Lively’s co-star.
According to the filing, Abel sent Melissa Nathan a text message saying “You know you can bury anyone.” Melissa Nathan responded with her text message: “You’re right. We can bury anybody.”
Baldoni also sent Abel an email containing a thread and post on social media accusing Hailey Bieber and writing: “This is exactly what we need.”
Justin Baldoni is a long-time advocate for women and marginalized communities
Baldoni was considered to be one of Hollywood’s leading men who advocated for violence against women, and the pervasive masculinity that plagued Hollywood at the height of the #MeToo campaign nearly a decade back.
He hosts a podcast, “Man Enough”, nominated for a Webby Award. The podcast is co-hosted by writer Liz Plank and describes itself as a “safe environment” where a variety of perspectives can be discussed candidly.
In his Instagram bio, he includes a note on domestic violence prevention. It reads: If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic abuse, help is readily available. For more information, visit @nomoreorg.
Baldoni promoted the No More Foundation during the press tour for this film. This is an organization that prevents domestic violence and sexual assault.
He accepted the 2024 Voices of Solidarity Award earlier this month from Vital Voices. This non-profit organization is dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence in Washington D.C.
In an Instagram post on the event, Baldoni said, “I hope to “teach boys while they are young that vulnerability is strength and that sensitivity is superpower. Empathy makes them powerful.”
“Being both a boy and a man is an amazing experience and there’s no need to apologize. “And to appreciate all the beautiful, complicated parts that make them humans,” Baldoni continued his caption.
“I believe with all my heart that once our boys learn to be safe spaces for themselves, our world will finally be a safe space for everyone.”