It Ends With Us may have been a big box office success, but it was not all rosy on set. Blake Lively, the film’s lead, is suing her co-star Justin Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment. She is also accusing him of running a smear campaign against her. Lively said the smear effort began after a meeting she had with Baldoni addressing “repeated sexual harassment.” The complaint also featured other celebrity names, including one of Lively’s former co-stars.
The legal filing included a “scenario planning” communication crisis manager Melissa Nathan shared with Baldoni. The said document highlights possible strategies to use “should [Ms. Lively] and her team make her grievances public.” One strategy involved Lively’s former co-star, Leighton Meester. Lively and Leighton both worked together in the hit show Gossip girl. Baldoni’s side allegedly suggested nudging journalists to probe Lively’s working relationship with Leighton.
The document suggested using the Leighton strategy if “Blake subtly hints at her ‘experience’ [with Justin in It Ends With Us], in post-premiere coverage, either in an op-ed, interview or otherwise.”
The document reads, “These pieces will likely come out following any potential hit piece and/or coverage from the premiere.” Going further to highlight the approach, it says, “Our recommended approach would be to provide reporters who reach out for comment, should it be obvious she’s referring to you, with the appropriate background information (listed in scenario 1) to ensure their stories are balanced and the speculation can be turned to one of the many people she’s had issues working with.”
Lively and Leighton’s relationship off the set has always been the subject of discourse among Gossip Girl fans. In 2017, the show’s executive producer, Joshua Safran, told Vanity Fair that, unlike their characters, they were not friends. He said, “They were friendly, but they were not friends like Serena and Blair. Yet the second they’d be on set together, it’s as if they were.” Also, in 2011, a source told Hollywood Life about jealousy issues between the show’s three leading women. Back in 2008, New York Magazine reported that Lively and Leighton avoided each other like a plague on set.
Some Other Celebrity Names That Came up in Blake Lively’s Legal Complaint
The complaint also named Taylor Swift and Hailey Beiber. An August 6 email from a crisis management expert to Baldoni mentions the unpredictable nature of issues on social media. The most significant problems can pass unnoticed, while comparatively smaller things can become massive media storms.
The “scenario planning” document suggests a strategy involving Swift, who is Lively’s long-time friend. It noted, “Our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism, and how people like Taylor Swift have been accused of utilizing these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want.”
Lively’s complaint also shares alleged evidence of Baldoni suggesting an “astroturfing” plan and citing a post about Hailey Beiber. Baldoni allegedly texted an X thread titled “Hailey Beiber’s history of bullying women” to PR executive Jennifer Abel. He wrote, “This is what we would need.”
