«I didn’t expect the cancellation that they are putting in Blake Lively», was one of the hundreds of comments that, last summer, flooded social networks after the questionable promotion made by the interpreter of ‘Break the circle’, a film that deals with domestic abuse. The wife of Ryan Reynolds was the protagonist along with Justin Baldoniwho, in turn, served as director. The actress chose to promote her personal businesses – a hair care line and a beverage brand – and discussed the film without delving into the importance of its theme. This caused it to receive numerous criticisms to the level of being “cancelled” by its diehards, who number in the millions. There was also talk that both decided to do the promotion separately, something that attracted attention and led to rumors about an alleged bad relationship between them. Even so, nothing suggested that they were going to star in the new scandal that has paralyzed Hollywood.
Before the end of 2024, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit, to which ‘The New York Times’ magazine had access, against Justin Baldoni alleging that she had been the victim of alleged sexual harassment during the filming of the film. In this, which consists of 80 pages, the actress also denounces that the actor began a campaign of “social manipulation” with the aim of “destroying” his reputation. All this after the interpreter of Serena van der Woodsen in ‘Gossip Girl’ requested a meeting and asked that a series of requirements be met to continue recording the film. Among them, the condition of “no more showing videos or images of naked women to Blake, no more mentioning Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction’ stands out. No more discussing sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no more mentioning cast and crew’s genitals. “Don’t ask any more questions about Blake’s weight and don’t mention Blake’s deceased father anymore.” He also asked that improvisations not be carried out in intimate or sexual scenes that were not described in the scene and without his consent.
The lawsuit includes the exchange of a series of messages that would prove Baldoni’s alleged objective of destroying Blake Lively’s reputation. “He -Baldoni- wants to feel that she -Lively- can be buried,” the publicist who worked for him reportedly wrote to Melissa Nathanan expert in crisis management, who would have responded: “You know we can bury anyone.” Both dated in the weeks in which they were in full promotion of ‘Breaking the Circle’. Note that by “buried” they meant doing it through the media. Shortly after this scandal came to light, Blake Lively gave an interview in ‘The New York Times’ in which she stressed the importance of raising your voice when you experience situations of this type: “I hope that my legal action helps reveal these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who report misconduct and help protect others who may be attacked.”
Blake Lively and Justin Baldona in a scene from the movie ‘Breaking the Circle’
As expected, Justin Baldoni, through his legal representative, denied the major and described the actress’ statements as “false, scandalous and intentionally lewd with the intention of publicly hurting.” They also explained that they were going to take legal action. “I’m not going to talk about when or how many lawsuits we’re going to file, but when we file our first lawsuit, it will shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative,” he said. Bryan FeedmanBaldoni’s lawyer, in conversation with the ‘Deadline’ portal. The first one arrived this week. Justin and his publicists have sued ‘The New York Times’, accusing them of having carried out a “decontextualized and manipulative” narrative when they published the content of Lively’s complaint. They refer to the article ‘We Can Bury Anyone: Inside Hollywood’s Smear Machine’, published on December 21. Thus, they claim 250 million dollars – approximately 240 million euros -.
Unilateral control of production
In this article, which has the signature of three reporters, attitudes are exposed that, if true, could be the beginning of the end for Baldoni: «He entered on different occasions, and without having been invited, into her dressing room when she “She was undressed or even breastfeeding.” The film director, throughout the lawsuit he has filed, states that it was Blake Lively who began a “strategic and manipulative” smear campaign and that she used “false accusations of sexual harassment to ensure unilateral control over everyone.” aspects of production.
The plaintiffs also make reference to Ryan Reynolds, the actress’s husband, and state that he confronted the protagonist of ‘Breaking the Circle’, blaming him for having made fatphobic comments against his wife. Furthermore, they point out that he was the one who pulled the strings for the WME agency to terminate Baldoni’s representation. Something that happened on December 22. Of course, they asserted that they had not received pressure to make the decision. According to ‘People’ magazine, they are now immersed in preparing the lawsuit against Lively. Likewise, it is just the beginning of a scandal that, along with that of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is bringing out the most sinister side of Hollywood and, if properly managed, will cause rivers of ink to flow in the international press.
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