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Teen Witch star Robyn Lively reacted to the news that her sister, Blake Lively, sued It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment and intentionally trying to sabotage her career.
“FINALLY justice for my sister @blakelively,” Robyn, 52, wrote via Instagram Story on Saturday, December 21, sharing screenshots of a New York Times article about Blake’s recent legal filing.
In a follow-up slide, Robyn asked her social media followers to “please read” the Times coverage. She also tagged Blake’s account, drawing a rainbow heart around it.
News broke several hours earlier that Blake, 37, accused Baldoni, 40, of causing her “severe emotional distress” on the set of It Ends With Us. (Baldoni and Lively costarred in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, which he also directed, about the abusive relationship between their characters.)
Blake further claimed that Baldoni fostered a “hostile work environment” and launched a “social manipulation” campaign to dry and destroy the actress’ reputation.
Baldoni categorically denied the allegations in a statement provided to Us Weekly by his attorney, Bryan Freedman. According to Freedman, the claims are “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” and the court motion was allegedly filed to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” regarding the film’s production.
Freedman also claimed that Blake made “multiple demands and threats” while filming It Ends With Us, including “threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”
Blake, who also served as an executive producer, subsequently issued a response to Freedman’s claims.
“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,” she said in a Saturday statement, denying Freedman’s accusations.
Before It Ends With Us premiered in theaters earlier this year, there were widespread rumors of a feud between Blake and Baldoni but neither ever publicly addressed the speculation.
“There were two camps on the film — team Blake and team Justin,” a source exclusively told Us at the time. “This creative struggle set the tone for the negative experience behind the scenes and grew into them not speaking anymore.”
According to the insider, Baldoni felt “his vision wasn’t as important as Blake’s,” which apparently “stifled the creativity on set.”
Costar Brandon Sklenar was one of the few It Ends With Us actors to address the apparent situation.
“Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about,” he wrote via Instagram in August. “It is, in fact, the opposite of the point. What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully 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.”
Sklenar, 34, continued, “Ultimately it’s meant to spread love and awareness. It is not meant to once again, make the women the ‘bad guy,’ let’s move beyond that together. All I ask is that before you spread hate on the internet, ask yourself who its helping. Ask yourself if your opinions are based in any fact. Or if you simply want to be part of something. Let’s be part of something better together. A part of a new story being written for women and all people everywhere.”
