Lively and Baldoni have been dogged by reports of an alleged behind-the-scenes feud since promotion for "It Ends with Us" began last summer.
Blake Lively has filed a sexual harassment complaint against her "It Ends with Us" costar and director Justin Baldoni.
Lively alleges in an 80-page complaint, filed Dec. 20 and obtained by TODAY.com, that Baldoni created a hostile workplace on the movie's set. The document states the actor later participated in "astroturfing" -- defined in the complaint as the deceptive practice of orchestrating a smear campaign under the guise of the public -- as well as a coordinated PR effort to "destroy" her reputation.
Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, responded to Lively's claims in a statement to TODAY.com, calling them "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious."
In her complaint, Lively claims that filming "It Ends with Us" became so uncomfortable that an "all hands" meeting, which included her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was held to address Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath's alleged "inappropriate conduct."
During the meeting, according to the complaint, Baldoni and Heath were asked to stop showing nude videos and images of women to Lively and others and to stop discussing their past "pornography addiction" as well as their "personal experiences of sex" in front of her and others.
Lively also requested that Baldoni and Heath stop describing their own "genitalia" in front of others.
The complaint goes on to allege that Lively issued a demand -- which Sony Pictures, the film's distributor, reportedly approved at the time -- asking that no additional sex scenes or "on camera climaxing" beyond what she had previously approved of be added to the film, among other requests regarding the movie's scenes depicting intimacy.
During the meeting, the complaint says Lively also addressed other issues on the movie's set and made a request to Baldoni to stop saying he was "speaking to" her late father, actor Ernie Lively, and for him to stop "pressing" her to discuss her religious beliefs.
Lively's complaint also notes that after the movie was released, Baldoni engaged in a "social manipulation" campaign to "destroy" her reputation that caused her and her family "severe emotional distress."
Lively's suit also included numerous excerpts of texts and emails from Baldoni's team, which were obtained through a subpoena that she claims detailed a plan to harm Lively's reputation.
In a statement to TODAY.com, 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."
Lively's complaint comes months after rumors of a behind-the-scenes feud between Lively and Baldoni began during promotion of "It Ends with Us."
In a statement to TODAY.com, Freedman, the attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and all its representatives, called Lively's lawsuit a "desperate attempt" to repair her reputation.
"It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions," Freedman said in the statement.
"These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media," Freedman's statement continued.
"Wayfarer Studios made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film, to work alongside their own representative with Jonesworks employed by Stephanie Jones, due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.
Baldoni's attorneys claim that Lively's team allegedly made up stories about Baldoni to the press before the marketing of the film had even begun.
"Which was another reason why Wayfarer Studios made the decision to hire a crisis professional to commence internal scenario planning in the case they needed to address," the statement reads.
"The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity."
"What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals," the statement concluded.
TODAY.com has also reached out to attorneys for Lively and Sony Pictures, who distributed the film, for comment about Baldoni's response to the complaint.
Rumors of tensions between Lively and Baldoni emerged during promotion of "It Ends with Us," which was released in theaters in August 2024.
The movie, which is based on Colleen Hoover's bestselling 2016 novel of the same name, tells the story of Lily Bloom, a florist (Lively), who falls for a charming neurosurgeon named Ryle (Baldoni) only to find herself trapped in an abusive relationship.
TODAY.com reached out to Hoover for comment.
After social media users noted that Baldoni did not pose with Lively -- or any of the movie's other stars -- at the film's Aug. 6 premiere in New York, rumors of tensions among the cast circulated online.
The chatter escalated when fans noticed that Lively and author Hoover followed each other and other cast members -- but not Baldoni -- on Instagram.
Baldoni also didn't participate in group promotional events with the movie's actors, opting instead to do his interviews with the media alone. Meanwhile, Lively often joined other cast members to speak to the media, including a high-profile Vanity Fair interview that featured Lively and five other actors from the film -- but not Baldoni.
Lively and Baldoni never publicly commented about their alleged feud, and Baldoni notably praised Lively during an Aug. 8 appearance on TODAY for her "smart and creative" contributions to his film.
Baldoni had also suggested Lively direct the sequel to "It Ends With Us."
"I think there are better people for that one," Baldoni told "Entertainment Tonight" when asked if he'd be interested in helming the next movie. "I think Blake Lively is ready to direct. That's what I think."
However, as rumors of the rift between the pair escalated, Lively began facing a public backlash online from those who criticized her behavior during promotional interviews about the movie, claiming it was at odds with the film's serious subject matter.
The former "Gossip Girl" star also faced criticism online for launching a new hair care line while promoting the film.
Meanwhile, author Hoover came under fire from online critics who accused her of romanticizing domestic violence in her book.
Brandon Sklenar, who plays Atlas, the former high school boyfriend of Blake Lively's character, Lily, commented on the multiple controversies surrounding the film in a lengthy statement on Instagram Aug. 20. In his statement, he defended Lively, Hoover and other women involved in the film from online attacks.
In his message, Sklenar wrote that whatever "may or may not have happened behind the scenes" during shooting of the movie, "should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film."
"It's been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online," he wrote.