Blake Lively and her “It Ends With Us” castmates documented numerous concerns with director and co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging that boundaries were repeatedly crossed during production, according to court records unsealed on Tuesday.
The documents also detail profound creative differences between Lively and Baldoni, which led to Lively creating her own cut of the film. In a court declaration, Lively stated that Baldoni’s cut “marginalized the female characters” and “glorified the abuser” and would upset female audiences.
Lively also refused to promote the movie with Baldoni or producer Jamey Heath, whom she alleges had vilified her in retaliation for her complaints
“They painted themselves as the victims and me as a bully,” she stated. “I was not willing to endorse Baldoni or Heath personally by appearing alongside or promoting the Film with them.”
Lively has sued Baldoni, as well as the film’s producers and his publicists, for harassment and retaliation. A trial is scheduled for May 18. Baldoni’s side filed a motion to throw the case out last fall, arguing that Lively’s claims amount to little more than “minor grievances.”
A hearing on that motion will take place on Thursday. Judge Lewis Liman has ordered the release of mountains of evidence accumulated by both sides ahead of the hearing. Baldoni’s documents have yet to be released.
Lively’s documents — unsealed on Tuesday morning — include deposition excerpts and text messages from herself and her co-stars, Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer, among others.
“The newly unsealed, damning documents show the consistent reaction numerous women, cast, crew, executives, partners, co-host and even his own PR team had working with Justin Baldoni,” said Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively’s legal team. “The evidence includes Ms. Lively’s own testimony describing the harassment she faced, as well as new evidence from numerous women describing their own disturbing experiences.”
Slate, who plays Lively’s best friend in the film, testified that Baldoni called Lively “hot” and “sexy.” Slate said that she flagged the inappropriate comments, which Baldoni did not appreciate. On another occasion, Baldoni told Slate that she looked “sexy” in what she was wearing.
“I assumed there was an understanding of — ‘We’re not doing this anymore,’” Slate testified. “It’s not appropriate anymore. It never was appropriate, but it’s not appropriate in a workplace.”
Slate also sent text messages stating that Baldoni was a “narcissist” and a “fraud” for cultivating a feminist persona.
“Justin is truly a false ally and I’m unwilling to do anything that promotes the image that he’s crafting as a ‘male feminist’ … like … honestly i have no words to describe what a fraud he is,” she wrote. “I honestly have never ever encountered anything like this dude. He’s the biggest clown and the most intense narcissist.”
Ferrer, who played the 16-year-old version of Lively’s character, testified that Baldoni made an inappropriate remark while directing the scene in which her character loses her virginity.
“I’m not supposed to say this, but that was hot,” Baldoni said, according to her testimony.
Ferrer testified that the remark was out of place.
“It didn’t feel appropriate in a work environment, and given that it was not necessarily like a note of any kind to do with my acting,” she said. “It felt out of place and strange to hear about a scene, especially a scene that is meant to be a PG scene about two young teenagers having a very like innocent experience intimately.”
In her own testimony, Lively said she was concerned that Baldoni had added several “gratuitous” sexual scenes to the film.
During a conversation with Baldoni about whether or not to circumcise an infant, Baldoni mentioned that he is circumcised — which she found disturbing. In another instance, Baldoni said that he liked her outfit with an inflection that made it seem like a leer.
“It wasn’t the moment he saw the outfit,” Lively said. “It wasn’t until I bent down and the coat opened that I got the compliment on my outfit… I felt uncomfortable. I felt exposed. I felt humiliated. I felt ashamed.”
Lively also raised concerns with the filming of a birth scene, during which she was in stirrups for several hours and nearly nude. She stated she learned that day that the actor playing the OB/GYN was one of Baldoni’s friends.
“I was extremely uncomfortable with the degree to which I was exposed during the Birth Scene, which felt violative and humiliating,” she stated. “I had to request a blanket to be given to me for privacy between takes, which was not always provided.”
Baldoni’s lawyers have previously argued that Lively knew she would be appearing in a “sexually charged film with adult themes,” and that her complaints do not rise to the level of harassment.
Colleen Hoover, the author of the book on which the movie was based, testified that she feared the adaptation would be overly sexualized — and that the message about female empowerment in the face of domestic violence would be lost.
“It’s fun sitting alone and reading detailed sex scenes to some people, but not many want to be in a theater watching them,” she wrote to Baldoni. “Some of these movies that focus on romance think women want to watch sex, but they couldn’t be more wrong. We want to watch love and emotions and angst and buildup, and then using our imagination from there is fine.”
