‘It Ends With Us’ author Colleen Hoover supports ‘honest’ Blake Lively amid Justin Baldoni lawsuit
Colleen Hoover is Team Blake.
The “It Ends With Us” author, 45, publicly showed support for Blake Lively who recently sued her co-star Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment
Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 40, played the lead stars in the film adaptation of Hoover’s 2016 romance novel. Baldoni also directed the movie.
On Friday, Lively filed a bombshell lawsuit against Baldoni where she accused him of harassing her on the set of the film — as well as “a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation” following the movie’s release.
Hoover backed Lively in the battle with a supportive message on her Instagram Stories on Saturday.
“@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” Hoover wrote alongside a photo of the pair hugging at a screening of the film.
“Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt,” the author added.
Hoover also included a link to a New York Times article about the lawsuit.
“It Ends With Us,” a domestic violence drama based on the bestselling book by Hoover, was released in theaters this past summer.
At the time, rumors swirled of a feud between Lively and Baldoni, who refused to appear together to promote the flick.
Lively also suffered a barrage of bad publicity upon the movie’s release, dubbed a “mean girl” after a journalist’s old interview with the actress went viral on social media.
In her lawsuit, Lively alleged that Baldoni’s misconduct on the set of the film was so bad that “an all-hands-on-deck meeting” was held to address his behavior.
As part of the tense sit-down, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, who attended the meeting, demanded there would be “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Lively, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ and no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Lively.”
They further stipulated that Baldoni “should not make inquiries about Lively’s weight” and make “no further mention of her dead father.”
Lively also demanded there be “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing” outside the scope of the script she approved when signing onto the project.
Baldoni’s lawyer,?Bryan Freedman, lashed out at Lively’s lawsuit, telling The Post, “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.”
Lively’s legal documents also claimed that Baldoni and his allies “engaged in a ‘social manipulation’ campaign to ‘destroy’ her reputation.”
As evidence, the “Gossip Girl” alum included texts from Baldoni’s publicist to a studio publicist saying the actor “wants to feel like [Ms. Lively] can be buried.”
Baldoni has been dropped by his talent agency, WME, in the wake of Lively’s lawsuit.
He previously hired Johnny Depp’s crisis management expert when the feud rumors came to light over the summer.
Lively addressed her lawsuit in a statement to the NYT, saying, “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.”
