The first lawsuit has been filed in the matter of Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni and “It Ends with Us.”
Steph Jones, Baldoni’s now ex publicist, has sued him and her former employees of making a mess of the whole thing.
The thing: Lively has sued Baldoni alleging incredible kinds of sexual harassment during the shooting of the movie. Lively says she was subjected to discussion of Baldoni and his associate’s sex lives, pictures of genitalia, criticism of her weight, and so on.
Things got so bad that the movie was stopped, and Baldoni had to agree to a 17 point agreement before they could finish the film. It’s mind boggling.
The effect on Baldoni’s career is becoming seismic. He’s already seen an award rescinded, and he’s been dropped by his talent agency. His career has gone up in flames in the matter of days.
A mystery remains: Baldoni knew he was making the movie with an actress whose husband is a billionaire and a force in Hollywood. Ryan Reynolds could afford the best lawyers in the world (and he did — two top Hollyoow firms). Reynolds was also on track to release his own blockbuster, “Deadpool and Wolverine,” at the same time as “It Ends with Us.”
You’d think Baldoni would be on his best behavior. Instead, according to Lively’s 80 page complaint, the director and co-star of the film could not resist poking a bee hive, and treating Lively as badly as possible. It’s almost as if he was self-destructing.
How will this all end? Baldoni owns the rights to the other Colleen Hoover novel, “It Starts with Us.” Lively wants to make the sequel and offload Baldoni. In a settlement or jury decision, Baldoni may have to give up those rights. The end of this story will be explosive.
See my earlier story:
Blake Lively Sues “It Ends with Us” Director Justin Baldoni for Sexual Harassment and…the Sequel?
