“She’s never dealt with anything like this before,” says a source close to Lively
Blake Lively’s legal complaint against Justin Baldoni has been in the works for some time, according to a source close to the actress.
“Blake, along with her team, have been working on this for months. It’s truly been so ugly for her. And insanely stressful,” the insider tells PEOPLE of Lively, 37, two days after news broke that she is suing her It Ends with Us costar and director, 40, for sexual harassment, followed by a retaliatory public smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
“She’s never dealt with anything like this before,” the source adds.
Lively’s complaint, a precursor to filing a discrimination lawsuit in California, alleges that Baldoni engaged in misconduct during the production of It Ends with Us including showing her explicit images and videos, asking her about her personal sex life and attempting to add intimacy scenes to the film that she had not originally agreed to, PEOPLE previously reported.
The legal filing states there was a meeting held to address Baldoni’s alleged actions and “the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production.” It was attended by various producers, along with her husband Ryan Reynolds.
Some of the demands that were addressed included safeguards likes a full-time intimacy coordinator, “no more showing nude videos or images of women … to [Blake] and/or her employees,” “no more mention of [Baldoni’s] previous ‘pornography addiction,’ “… “no more discussions to [Blake] … about personal experiences with sex,” “no more inquiries by [Baldoni] to [Blake’s] trainer without her knowledge or consent to disclose her weight,” and “no more mention by [Baldoni] of him ‘speaking to’ [Blake’s] dead father.”
“No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project,” were other requests the complaint alleges that Baldoni and the other filmmakers agreed to.
Although Lively said Baldoni agreed to the protections, the complaint alleges that the actor subsequently hired crisis publicists to begin a retaliatory smear campaign against her on social media and in the press.
In a statement given to the New York Times, 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.”
In the documents obtained by PEOPLE, the Gossip Girl alum said that following Baldoni’s alleged behavior, “behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.”
The source close to Lively tells PEOPLE, “Clearly the smear campaign is still working even after all the details were revealed.”
“The amount of people, and mostly women, that are leaving nasty comments about Blake on social-media mentions is truly appalling,” the insider adds.
As she navigates the legal action, “Blake’s whole family and her close friends are all supportive,” the insider adds.
Several prominent individuals have come out in support of Lively amid the filing against Baldoni, including It Ends with Us novel author Colleen Hoover, Lively’s A Simple Favor director Paul Feig, her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn, Amy Schumer and Amber Heard, her sister Robyn Lively and Robyn’s husband Bart Johnson.
“@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” Hoover wrote alongside a photo of herself and Lively hugging at a screening of the film. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
Johnson, 54, left a recent comment on an Instagram post from The New York Times about the legal filing, claiming that his sister-in-law’s “complaints were filed during the filming. On record. Long before the public conflict.”
“The cast unfollowed him for a reason,” he continued, adding of Baldoni, “His PR team was stellar. Gross and disgusting but highly effective.”
“Read the article, their text message exchanges and his PR campaign strategy to bury her by any means necessary. No one is with out faults. But the public got played,” Johnson said.
Rumors of a rift between Lively and Baldoni sparked as the cast embarked on the official press tour for the movie. Baldoni did most of his press solo and did not pose for pictures alongside the cast at the film’s New York premiere. Fans were also quick to spot that Lively, Hoover, and Lively and Baldoni’s costar Jenny Slate do not follow Baldoni back on Instagram.
