And it ends with us Actor Brandon Sklenar called on people to read star Blake Lively's complaint against director and star Justin Baldoni amid the ongoing fallout that began Friday after the filing of the document, which also plunged the PR machine into a Hollywood crisis over the director's sexual harassment allegations and his burial. Smear campaign.
Sklenar, who portrays Lively's teen love interest in the domestic violence romantic drama adapted from Colleen Hoover's novel of the same name, posted a screenshot of the complaint and a link to New York Times A website displaying the 80-page document. “For the love of God, read this,” the performer wrote on the Instagram Story he shared today, tagging Lively along with a red heart emoji.
the offer The actor joins a number of Hollywood figures who expressed their support for Lively over the weekend, including the cast The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants (which stars Lively), Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Feig, Amy Schumer, as well as the film's distributor, Sony itself. Amber Heard, who was herself the target of a vicious social media tirade in the wake of the defamation case she filed with ex-husband Johnny Depp in 2022 (which also included testimony about his alleged sexual assault), denounced the alleged PR campaign as “as horrifying as… “What a devastating thing.” A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson also condemned the allegations on behalf of the organization.
The consequences that followed were swift and stunning: Baldoni was dropped from the agency WME — which included clients like Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds — on Saturday morning. Today, it's Liz Blank, who co-hosts Baldoni Man enough podcast exploring toxic masculinity, he resigned from the project in the wake of the complaint. Additionally, the Voices of Solidarity Award given to Baldoni earlier this month, an achievement given to male allies of women, has been rescinded.
Friday's 10-claim complaint, a potential precursor to a lawsuit, includes a description of Baldoni's “disturbing” behavior, which Lively claims led to a “hostile work environment that nearly derailed the film's production,” as well as “coordinated marketing.” “A campaign by him, his production company Wayfarer Studios, and others in retaliation for Lively speaking out against sexual harassment — including allegations that Baldoni improvised kissing during filming, added sex scenes without Lively's consent, made lewd and sexual remarks, showed her nude photos/videos of women, discussed his addiction The ex made pornography, repeatedly walked in on her in her trailer (including while she was breastfeeding), said he could communicate with her late father and more.
Before the film hit theaters on August 9, rumors circulated about on-set tension between Lively and Baldoni, with the two stars not appearing at press events together. Shortly thereafter, Sklenar issued a statement calling for an end to the chatter on social media, which was decidedly anti-Lively.
“Damending the women who put so much of their hearts and souls into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about,” he said in part. “It's actually the opposite of the point.”
