Blake Lively’s legal case against Justin Baldoni over alleged emotional distress during the filming of It Ends With Us.
Hollywood has experienced its fair share of drama, but this time it isn’t on the screen. The feud between actress Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni has seen new developments in the ongoing legal and personal battle.
A judge has sided with Baldoni in a case involving the movie It Ends With Us, which he is directing and producing. The court’s ruling has resulted in a big loss for Blake Lively, who had filed a complaint for emotional distress during the making of that film.
According to reports, the feud started during the making of It Ends With Us, the film of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. Blake Lively was cast as the lead, Lily Bloom, and Justin Baldoni directed and played Ryle Kincaid, the male lead. Fans were excited about the casting, but behind the scenes, the proceedings were far from smooth.
Sources say that Lively and Baldoni clashed on set after starting during script rewrites. Blake felt that some of the scenes were just too emotionally exhausting, and claimed she was not given enough creative room to raise concerns.
Rumors also say the communication was “tense and cold,” with frequent clashes over how they wanted to shoot certain important scenes.
Earlier this year, Lively brought the case to court. She filed a suit for emotional distress, where she stated that the workplace under Baldoni’s supervision was “hostile and toxic.”
Lively also attested that she was directed to perform emotionally charged scenes forcefully and on a repeated basis, without proper support, ultimately leading to stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness.
Blake’s lawyers said she experienced unfair treatment, was ignored while requesting accommodations, and left feeling “manipulated” by the creative process. On Feb 27, her attorney referred to Blake’s experience as “traumatic,” particularly in light of the character’s issues with abuse and emotional injuries.
Justin Baldoni, who is also a co-producer on the film, denied all the allegations. His lawyers presented the argument that the whole production process followed all the union rules and that Blake had agreed to the scenes in the contractual terms.
They stated Blake was a participant in discussions about the script from the beginning, and that the filing of objections from Blake, at this stage of the proceedings, was “creative disagreements, not legal violations.”
After weeks of evidence and witness testimony, the judge eventually ruled in Baldoni’s favor. In the ruling, the court did not find evidence that Blake Lively experienced distress due to poor treatment or intentional harm.
The judge stated that differences in vision are a common event in filmmaking, and unless the issue is severe or abusive, it does not constitute legal wrongdoing.
The judge also added that Blake did not officially bring any discomfort with the production through official HR processes, hence making her case weaker. Consequently, Blake’s emotional distress claim was denied, and the court ruled that filming could proceed without any adjustments.
With this court decision, the production of the film It Ends With Us will continue without any further interruptions. But according to reports, there is still tension between the lead actress and the director.
It is uncertain whether Blake will continue to support the film after the film’s release, and to what degree she will be involved, considering the personal and professional circumstances.
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