Blake Lively sees widespread support in a lawsuit against co-star Justin Baldoni | Film

Blake Lively is gaining widespread support in her fight against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, just days after the American actor filed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against him on Friday in what is fast becoming the most dynamic #MeToo event of the dying year.

“Never change. Never will,” Colleen Hoover, author of the book that inspired and shares a title with the film, wrote on Instagram. Hoover later added, “Blake’s ability to refuse to sit down and ‘get buried’ has been nothing short of inspiring.”

Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel said: “We stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign to destroy her reputation.”

And Amber Heard, the actress defending a defamation claim from her ex-husband Johnny Depp, said on US morning television that Baldoni had retained the same PR crisis manager as Depp during their legal battle – and had witnessed “first-hand” how social media misinformation is “as appalling as it is devastating”.

According to Deadline, Amy Schumer posted the message “I believe Blake” on Instagram, while Gwyneth Paltrow posted a queen emoji along with a mention of Lively’s hair products.

Filmmaker Paul Feig, who directed Lively in A Simple Favor, wrote on X: “She really didn’t deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s terrible that she was put through this.

The votes of support come after a rumored feud between Lively, 35, and Baldoni, 40, erupted over the weekend. Lively accused Baldoni, the film’s director, of sexual harassment, a hostile work environment and attempts to tarnish her reputation with a targeted social media campaign.

The complaint alleged that Baldoni retained prominent PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan, named as a defendant in the lawsuit, to smear her through a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation.

According to Lively’s complaint, an all-hands meeting was held during filming to address her allegations of a hostile work environment — a gathering attended by her husband and fellow actor Ryan Reynolds.

Lively allegedly demanded that Baldoni stop the following alleged actions: showing nude videos or pictures of women to the actor, allegedly mentioning his past “pornography addiction”, discussing his sexual experiences in front of Lively and others, mentioning the cast and crew’s genitalia, and asking about Lively weight.

The lawsuit includes 22 pages of texts from Baldoni’s publicist to Nathan about how he “wants to feel like (Ms Lively) can be buried”, to which Nathan replied: “we can’t write, we want to destroy her.”

Jennifer Abel, a publicist who worked with Nathan, denied Lively’s claim. “There was no ‘smearing’ implemented,” Abel wrote in a Facebook group for PR and marketing professionals: “No negative press was ever facilitated, no social battle plan, although we were prepared for it as it is our job to be ready for any scenario, but we didn’t have to implement anything because the internet did the work for us.”

Baldoni, who has since been dropped by talent agent WME, has disputed Lively’s claims, calling them “disgraceful” and a “desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation, which was gained from her own remarks and actions during the promotion of the film”.

But the dispute threatens to go further amid allegations that Baldoni had created a public image identifying herself as a feminist and staunch ally of women as a preemptive professional cover.

“We are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that followed to discredit her voice,” Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars said in their response. “Most outrageous is the blatant exploitation of domestic violence stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding.”

Heard said Baldoni’s alleged use of a PR crisis team to smear Lively by creating negative stories about her online was something “I saw … up close.

“Social media is the absolute personification of the classic saying, ‘A lie travels halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.’ Heard added: “It’s as horrifying as it is destructive.”

Rumors of a dispute between Lively and Baldoni surfaced in August when the pair failed to attend promotional events together. Fans quickly noticed that the film’s stars, including Lively and Jenny Slate, unfollowed Baldoni on social media.

In her complaint, Lively alleges that Baldoni planned to use her decades-long friendship with Taylor Swift against her.

According to the lawsuit, a “scenario planning document” was sent from Nathan’s PR firm that laid out three likely scenarios Lively and her team could use — and how Baldoni’s team would respond if she chose to “make her grievances public.”

One approach would be to “explore plant stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in BL (Lively)’s circle, like Taylor Swift, have been accused of using these tactics to ‘bully’ to get what they want”.

According to the document, other ideas to counter any negative narrative included citing Baldoni’s “star reputation among colleagues and industry peers — numerous quotes and interviews sharing positive experiences” and his support for the #MeToo movement.