Justin Baldoni Responds to Blake Lively's Sexual Harassment Complaint

As a dedicated reader of Colleen Hoover’s heart-wrenching novel “It Ends With Us,” I was eagerly anticipating the movie adaptation. However, upon seeing the costumes that went viral, I couldn’t help but feel a tad disappointed. While the book doesn’t delve too much into character outfits, I had envisioned Ryle in his scrubs and Lily in her baggy sweater just as vividly as the poignant conversations between them.

Justin Baldoni‘s legal representative has issued a statement in response to claims Blake Lively brought up concerning the director of the film “It Ends With Us”.

According to The New York Times, as reported by TopMob News on Dec. 21, the actress – who is also a coproducer of the film – has filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation. She claims that he made sexually suggestive remarks towards her and employed a crisis PR expert to launch a defamatory campaign against her.

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, expressed disappointment that Ms. Lively and her team would level such severe and undeniably untrue allegations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their associates, in a statement given to The New York Times, regarding the production company which Baldoni co-founded.

The grievance was lodged after several months of whispers about a disagreement between Baldoni and Lively, as they didn’t jointly publicize the film during their promotional tour.

The attorney for the director characterized Lively’s accusations in the lawsuit as a “last-ditch effort” intended to rectify a poor reputation she herself created during the film campaign. This was based on her statements and actions, which were visible and unedited during interviews, press activities, and real-time internet coverage, allowing for public opinions to be formed independently.

The statement went on to say, “These allegations are entirely untrue, excessively sensationalized, and deliberately scandalous, aimed at causing harm and perpetuating a story in the press.

He mentioned that Wayfarer Studios chose to employ a crisis manager in advance of their film’s marketing campaign, anticipating potential issues. This was due to rumors about persistent requests and threats from Ms. Lively during filming, such as threatening not to attend set or refuse to promote the movie. If her demands weren’t addressed, it was suggested that these actions could lead to the film’s poor performance during its release.

According to Lively’s statement to The New York Times, she expressed her hope that her legal action would expose hidden retaliatory strategies used to harm individuals speaking out against misconduct and provide protection for those potentially facing similar targeting.

Additionally, she asserted that neither she nor her associates were responsible for disseminating unfavorable info regarding Baldoni or Wayfarer, as per the news article.

TopMob News has reached out to Lively and Baldoni’s teams for comment and has not heard back.

Keep reading to learn more about It Ends With Us…

For ardent fans of “It Ends with Us,” this adaptation presented a contentious shift in perspective. In the novel, Lily is portrayed as being 23 years old. Although no character’s age is explicitly mentioned in the film, it seems that the storyline progresses beyond those early years.

This was evident to fans once It Ends With Us cast Blake Lively, in the main role, along with Justin Baldoni—also the film’s director—and Brandon Sklenar, who were all in their thirties at the time of casting. Still, the author was on board with the shift—especially when it came to Ryle’s profession as a neurosurgeon.

Surprisingly, you might be interested to know that Ellen Degeneres, the renowned comedian and ex-daytime talk show host, plays a significant part in this book. Intriguingly, the protagonist, Lily Bloom, documents her experiences through letters addressed to Ellen or “The Ellen Diaries”. This unique method allows readers to uncover the truth about Lily’s relationship with her parents and how she encounters Atlas.

Although the movie subtly references the frequent Ellen motif from the book, it includes a quick snapshot of Lily’s diary with a line starting “Dear Ellen” and a short clip from The Ellen DeGeneres Show in one part, the comedian doesn’t play a significant role within the movie.

In addition to the numerous tributes, Ellen’s iconic phrase from “Finding Nemo,” “Just Keep Swimming,” is another subtle reference woven into the narrative. This mantra becomes a source of strength for Lily during challenging times throughout the book, and it’s also echoed in Atlas’ final line. The movie poster of “Finding Nemo” subtly appears on the wall of Lily’s teenage bedroom at the story’s outset.

In the film, Lily’s speech at her father’s funeral serves as a constant theme in her portrayal of their relationship. Five aspects that Lily cherishes about her father (written on a napkin) are left unfilled, and she eventually lays this napkin on his grave when the movie concludes.

In a different rendition, on-screen events deviate from their written counterparts. Unlike Lily’s hurried exit reminiscent of Serena Van Der Woodsen in Gossip Girl, she remains composed and silent at the funeral for an extended period before being escorted away by a relative. A notable alteration is the inclusion of the poignant napkin moment in the movie.

Viewers watching the movie might discover that Atlas can cook, but they’ll unfortunately not witness Atlas’ expressions of gratitude towards Lily through gifts, which is how he expresses his affection in the book. For instance, Atlas gave Lily a Boston keychain for her birthday when they were teenagers, an item she kept even after their friendship faded and eventually sparked a disagreement with Ryle later on.

Later on, when they reconnected as grown-ups, he gifted Ellen an autographed copy of the comedian’s book titled “Seriously…I’m Kidding”. Inside the cover, she penned a note that said “Lily, Atlas advises you to keep swimming.

As a lifestyle expert, I’d like to share an observation about a beloved story that has been adapted into film. Similar to Ellen, Lily’s mother’s role in the narrative was significantly reduced. In the book, her mother was meant to accompany Lily to Boston and they shared numerous moments together. However, in the movie, you’ll notice that she appears only sparingly, featured in a limited number of scenes.

Even though Ryle’s mother from the book, residing in England, briefly appears in a single scene, she’s nowhere to be found in the movie. The movie adaptation also overlooked some minor characters from Lily’s life, such as Lucy, her roommate who vacates but later lands a job at her flower shop in the sequel “It Starts With Us.” Additionally, Devin, a former colleague of Lily’s, is absent, even though he accompanied Lily to Allysa’s birthday party and briefly pretended to be her boyfriend to provoke Ryle’s jealousy. As a die-hard fan, it’s these tiny details that I can’t help but miss!

In another part of the story, it’s revealed that Brad, Darin, and Jimmy, who are occasionally seen playing poker with Lily, are also not present at Atlas’ restaurant.

From a devoted fan’s perspective, I must say that the film’s portrayal of domestic violence stands out significantly from the books, with certain scenes receiving a dramatic transformation entirely. In the book, when Ryle burns his hand, he doesn’t shove Lily down until he’s attempting to cool it off under the sink – contrastingly, in the movie, this incident occurs immediately after he touches the hot surface.

In that particular scene of the novel, Lily’s laughter, caused by intoxication, continues unabated (until Ryle becomes aggressive). The character Ryle exclaims to Lily in the book, “Lily, for heaven’s sake! This isn’t funny. That hand is crucial to my professional success.

Following his action of shoving Lily down the stairs in the story, she subsequently evicts Ryle from their apartment, forcing him to spend the night in the corridor.

The conversations surrounding abuse also play out differently in the film. For starters, Ryle doesn’t learn about Lily’s family history of domestic violence until after they’ve been dating a while in the movie but in the book, it happens on the first night they meet.

In the film version of the story, I’m privy to a heart-wrenching discussion between me and my sister-in-law, Allyssa (portrayed by Jenny Slate), following my discovery of Ryle’s past violent actions, including an incident where he accidentally shot his brother while they were kids. In the book, it’s Ryle himself who reveals to me how his brother met his end, and there’s no warning from Allyssa about his abusive tendencies when I consider reconciling with him.

In the book, the restaurant known as Atlas’ Root is more accurately referred to as Bib’s, a name derived from their teenage catchphrase “Better in Boston.” This slight alteration helps readers who haven’t read the book grasp the depth of Atlas’ affection for Lily, as Colleen pointed out.

In the book, a particular meaning was represented by the restaurant’s name which turned out to be crucial for Lily to express her importance to him. Colleen clarified this to TopMob News, stating that they altered the name from its original form to Root in the film because there wasn’t enough time to fully convey all the events of the book that were essential to make that significant scene work in the movie.

Absolutely, there’s a connection I can’t ignore between the character Root and the dialogue shared by Lily and Atlas in the movie. Interestingly enough, this is a topic Lily pens down about Atlas in her book, making it a fascinating cross-media reference that truly captivates me as an avid fan!

Lily points out that certain entities, such as trees, have the inner strength to endure without external aid. She observes that Atlas appears remarkably resilient, far more so than she herself would under similar circumstances.

In the book, Ryle and Lily tie the knot with Allysa, Marshall (Hasan Minhaj), and their families present. The film briefly touches upon this significant event, but unlike the movie, it was also attended by Lily’s mother in the book. Furthermore, it can be assumed that they might have spent a considerable amount on late-night flights across the country to Nevada for the wedding ceremony.

In the book, Lily chooses the name Emerson Dory for their baby, combining elements that hold significance for both her and Ryle. Emerson is the name of Ryle’s deceased brother, while Dory refers to their mutual fondness for Ellen DeGeneres and the character “Dory” from the movie “Finding Nemo.

The movie, however, only shares “Emerson.” And while Allysa and Marshall welcoming their first baby does take place in the movie, it makes no mention of naming her Rylee after Allyssa’s brother Ryle.

The characters might not be dressed exactly as readers had imagined. In reality, the adaptation of It Ends With Us faced significant criticism following the release of costume photos from the set. Nevertheless, the book only provides a few descriptions of clothing, such as Ryle’s scrubs or Lily’s loose sweater.

As for what Colleen had to say about the backlash?

She shared with Today that she doesn’t recall focusing on their outfits at all. To her, it’s less about what people are wearing and more about the discussion they’re engaged in and the narrative they’re contributing – just like in a movie.

2024-12-21 22:48

Justin Baldoni Responds to Blake Lively’s Sexual Harassment Complaint

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