Blake Lively Sues ‘It Ends With Us’ Costar For Sexual Harassment

LOS ANGELES, CA — Blake Lively filed a lawsuit Friday against her “It Ends with Us” costar Justin Baldoni, 40, accusing him of sexual harassment on the set and a retaliatory smear campaign against her, according to multiple reports.

After months of rumors of behind-the-scenes tension while filming the adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel, the 37-year-old actress said that because of Baldoni’s behavior, "behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety,” according to People.

During filming, Lively called a Jan. 4 meeting involving Baldoni, the movie’s director, executive producer, lead actor, and co-founder of Wayfarer Studies, which owns the film, as well as others involved in the production and her representative, her husband Ryan Reynolds, to address “the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production,” according the lawsuit, which was obtained by the New York Times.

“She chose her husband, given that the meeting was about repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior by Mr. Baldoni and Mr. (Jamey) Heath (the chief executive officer of Wayfarer and producer of the film,)” the lawsuit said.

Issues addressed during this meeting included safeguards such as a full-time intimacy coordinator, "no more showing nude videos or images of women ... to [Lively] and/or her employees," "no more mention of (Baldoni's) previous 'pornography addiction,'"... "no more discussions to (Lively)...about personal experiences with sex," "no more inquiries by (Baldoni) to (Lively's) trainer without her knowledge or consent to disclose her weight," and "no more mention by (Baldoni) of him 'speaking to' (Lively's) dead father,” People said.

He allegedly also showed nude videos and images of women to Lively, the LAist said.

She also requested that no new sex scenes, other than those agreed to by Lively when she read the script and signed onto the project, be added to the film, reports said.

Sony Pictures, which distributed the movie, and Wayfarer approved her requests. Lively claims that Baldoni organized a “social manipulation campaign” to “destroy” her reputation after this, reports said.

The claims against Baldoni are "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious,” the actor’s attorney told Newsweek.

His lawyer said the actress also caused problems on set, "threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release,” according to reports.

Lively told TMZ in a statement, "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”