The actress Blake Lively decided to take legal action against Justin Baldonidirector and co-star of the movie “Breaking the Circle” (It Ends with Us). In the lawsuit – which also includes his production company Wayfarer – he is accused of sexual harassment and subsequently making “a concerted effort to destroy his reputation.”
The complaint, which was filed Friday with the California Department of Civil Rights, details “the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed the film’s production”and that Baldoni’s behavior caused him “severe emotional damage” to the actress. Furthermore, he alleges that the actor and producer James Heath introduced excessively sexual aspects into the film, in addition to showing pornography, talking about porn addictions, and using sexually inappropriate language in the filming of the controversial film.
Along these lines, in January of last year they maintained a meeting between all the film workersto discuss “in detail the inappropriate conduct that Ms. Lively, her employees, and other cast and crew members experienced at the hands of Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath.” The husband of the Gossip Girl star was present, Ryan Reynolds“given that the meeting was about repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” of those reported.
After that meeting, where according to the complaint ““all parties present agreed that the conduct described would cease.”30 elements were included, among which were:
- No more arguments with BL and/or their employees about personal experiences with sex, including in relationships with spouses and/or other people.
- No more descriptions of your own genitals to BL; Mr. Baldoni no longer mentions having “spoken to” BL’s deceased father.
- No more impromptu kisses. All intimate contact must be choreographed beforehand with BL and an intimacy coordinator. Lip biting or sucking is not permitted without BL’s consent. And all intimate contact and all conversations on camera must be “in character,” not spoken personally by Mr. Baldoni to BL.
- No more sex scenes, oral sex or climaxes on camera by BL will be allowed outside the scope of the script that BL approved when signing the project.
With this, It Ends With Us resumed production the next day and completed work on February 9.
What do both sides say?
Lively’s lawyers stated that a document, that the actress “never sought conflict with Baldoni or Heath, but instead consistently tried to speak privately in favor of a safe and respectful workplace hoping to protect herself, as well as the cast and crew, without jeopardizing a film she believed could make a difference in people’s lives.”
”In response, Mr. Baldoni, Mr. Heath and those who worked for them attempted to destroy Ms. Lively and anyone else who knew the truth. Ms. Lively’s discovery of the magnitude of the retaliation campaign launched by the Wayfarer parties has left her no choice. Through this complaint, Ms. Lively seeks to set the record straight, hold Wayfarer parties and associates accountable, and shed light on this new form of retaliation so that it is not used against others seeking to stand up for themselves and report harassment. sexual,” they added.
Likewise, the actress expressed: “I hope my legal action will help expose these sinister retaliation tactics to harm people who report misconduct and help protect others who may be targeted.”to the portal deadline. For his part, Baldoni describes the accusations as “completely false, scandalous and intentionally lewd with the intent to publicly hurt and repeat a narrative in the media”.
Furthermore, they added: “The emotional impact on Ms. Lively has been extremenot only affecting her, but also her family, including her husband and four children. There are days when it has been difficult for him to get out of bed, and he often decides not to go out in public. While he has struggled to maintain his personal life and business interests, behind closed doors he has suffered pain, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety. He has also been experiencing repeated and painful physical symptoms as a result of this experience. Mr. Reynolds has also been affected mentally, physically and professionally by the grief of his wife and children. Worst of all, however, has been the impact on their young children, who have been traumatized and emotionally uprooted in ways that have substantially affected their well-being.”
The tense atmosphere had already been noted during the promotional tour of the film, which arrived in theaters in August of this year. The stars were not shown together at the events, and Lively was later criticized for the light tone of her interviews and for using the promotion of the film to advertise her hair care line, which some considered inappropriate given the topic of domestic violence addressed. in fiction.
Source: Ambito
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