Justin Baldoni allegedly claimed to It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively that he could speak to the dead — including her late father.
Lively, 37, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni, 40, on Friday, December 20, which included allegations against him such as creating a “hostile work environment” and causing the actress “severe emotional distress” on the set of It Ends With Us.
Lively’s complaint alleged that Baldoni had “engaged in other behaviors that were shocking and emotionally distressing,” which included “[claiming] he could speak to the dead, and on several occasions told [Lively] that he had spoken to her dead father.” The complaint described it as “off putting and violative” for Baldoni to allegedly “claim a personal relationship with [Lively’s] recently deceased father.”
Lively’s father, actor Ernie Lively, passed away in June 2021 at the age of 74.
Along with Blake, Ernie and wife Elaine Lively shared children Lori, Jason, Robyn and Eric. After news of Blake’s lawsuit against Baldoni broke, Robyn, 52, took to social media to show support for her sister.
“FINALLY justice for my sister @blakelively,” Robyn wrote via Instagram Story on Saturday, December 21.
According to Blake’s complaint, a meeting was held in January 2024 during the production of It Ends With Us to address the actress’ against her costar. Per the lawsuit, Blake’s demands for the meeting included “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.”
Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, addressed Blake’s “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” allegations in a statement to Us Weekly, claiming the actress filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” regarding the production of the film.
He alleged Lively made “multiple demands and threats” during the film’s production, which included “threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”
In a statement to The New York Times on Saturday, Lively said, “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.”
The actress denied spreading negative information about Baldoni.
