Blake Lively's Complaint Accuses Justin Baldoni of Smear Campaign

As a devoted reader of Colleen Hoover’s works, I have to say that experiencing the transition from the written word to the silver screen can be both exhilarating and daunting. The anticipation of seeing our beloved characters come to life is like opening a present on Christmas morning, but the reality often falls short of our vivid mental images.

Blake Lively claims Justin Baldoni retaliated against her by orchestrating a negative reputation-building effort following her accusation that he sexually harassed her during the production of their movie, “It Ends With Us.

The actress made her allegations public in a court document submitted to the California Civil Rights Department on December 21st, according to reports by The New York Times. In the documents obtained by TopMob News, Lively claims that Baldoni, who was also her co-star, enlisted the help of a crisis management expert to execute a plan aimed at damaging her reputation while safeguarding his own.

The actress from “Gossip Girl,” who also co-produced the movie, claims this incident occurred following her report of the director’s suspected misconduct to the other producers, as well as receiving a promise from their studio (Wayfarer) to enhance safety measures on the film set and assurance that she would not face retaliation for voicing her concerns.

The grievance, which sets the stage for a potential lawsuit, was submitted after numerous rumors about a dispute between Lively and Baldoni. This document contains screenshots of various text and email exchanges that the director and PR representatives supposedly sent and received as part of an alleged defamation campaign. These communications were obtained by the actress’ legal team via a subpoena.

Jennifer Abel, Baldoni’s publicist, reportedly wrote to crisis PR expert Melissa Nathan in August, as per the documents, that she believes Baldoni and Lively wanted to be “symbolically interred” or “committed to each other deeply”.

In a supposed response, Nathan used phrases such as, “We won’t be able to avoid causing harm to her” and “I understand we have the ability to silence anyone. However, I can’t communicate that to him directly.

The accusation claims that a few days after, Baldoni forwarded his publicist a screenshot of another person’s social media post suggesting, without proof, Hailey Bieber had been bullying women. In this message, he reportedly told his representative, “this is the kind of evidence we would require.

According to reports, Abel is said to have replied, “Indeed, I actually talked to Melissa about this during our break, concerning what we went over yesterday regarding social media and digital matters,” and further emphasized, “Let’s concentrate on Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram.

TopMob has reached out to Abel and Nathan for comment and has not heard back.

The documents claim that in the upcoming months, the director’s public relations team is said to have carried out an intricate, synchronized, and financially backed plan of retaliation against the actress. According to the complaint, they allegedly developed, disseminated, exaggerated, and increased content with the intention of damaging Ms. Lively’s credibility, boosting Baldoni’s reputation, and suppressing any unfavorable information about him.

Bryan Freedman, representing Baldoni, has issued a response to Lively’s legal claim. In a statement provided to The New York Times, he stated, “It is regrettable that Ms. Lively and her associates would make such significant and undeniably false allegations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives.

The attorney for the director announced that Wayfarer Studios chose to bring in a crisis manager ahead of their film’s promotional campaign. This was done in response to reported pressures and threats from Lively, such as refusing to attend set or promote the movie, which could potentially harm the film’s success during its release if her demands weren’t fulfilled.

He mentioned that what’s noticeably absent from the selectively shown communications is any indication of actions taken ahead of time with the media or otherwise. He further explained that all there was, were internal discussions about potential scenarios and private communication for strategic planning, which is a common practice among public relations experts when dealing with such matters.

Freedman labeled Lively’s accusations as another last-ditch effort to amend her unfavorable image, which she earned through her comments and conduct during the movie campaign.

In a statement made to The New York Times, Lively expressed her hope that her legal action would expose underhanded strategies used to punish individuals speaking out against misconduct, thereby safeguarding others who might face similar situations.

Read on for more about It Ends With Us…

For ardent enthusiasts of “It Ends with Us”, this adaptation sparked some debate. In the novel, Lily is portrayed as being 23 years old. Although no specific ages are mentioned in the film, it seems to depict events slightly further along in time.

The choice of Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni (who also directed the film), and Brandon Sklenar, all in their thirties at the time, for the main roles in “It Ends With Us” was clear to fans. Interestingly, the author supported this casting decision, particularly because Ryle’s character is a neurosurgeon, a profession that suited the actors well.

Without a doubt, you might be surprised to learn that Ellen Degeneres, renowned comedian and past daytime talk show host, plays a significant part in the book. In fact, the protagonist, Lily Bloom, records her experiences through letters addressed to Ellen or “The Ellen Diaries”. This is how we, as readers, discover the intricate details about Lily’s relationship with her parents, as well as her encounter with Atlas.

Although the movie hints at the frequent Ellen motif from the book by showing a quick image of Lily’s journal with a note starting “Dear Ellen” and also incorporating a short clip from The Ellen DeGeneres Show in one part, the comedian does not play a significant role in the film.

Apart from the numerous tributes, Ellen’s iconic phrase from “Finding Nemo,” “Just Keep Swimming,” is echoed by Lily in challenging situations throughout the book. This sentiment is mirrored in Atlas’ final words too. Interestingly, the movie poster of “Finding Nemo” adorns the wall of Lily’s room at the start of the story, hinting at its influence on her character.

Throughout the movie, Lily’s eulogy for her father frequently reappears as a significant theme in her evolving relationship with him. The five things that Lily cherishes about her father (which remain unwritten) are hastily jotted down on a napkin, eventually being laid to rest alongside him at the end of the film.

In a different turn of events, the scene on screen deviates from how it was depicted in the original script. Unlike Lily, who typically exits hastily as Serena Van Der Woodsen does in Gossip Girl, she chooses to remain silent and composed for several minutes at the funeral before being asked to leave by a relative. Additionally, the emotional napkin keepsake is a fresh element introduced in the movie adaptation.

As a devoted follower, I’d like to share that while moviegoers might discover Atlas’ culinary skills, they’ll unfortunately overlook his thoughtful gestures of gratitude towards Lily – tokens that are often expressed through gift-giving in the book. For instance, when they were teens, he presented her with a Boston keychain for her birthday. She cherished this token so much that she kept it even after they lost touch, and later, it sparked a disagreement between her and Ryle.

Later, when they reunited as grown-ups, he presented Ellen with an autographed copy of the book “Seriously…I’m Kidding” by the comedian, along with a note from the author. In this note, Ellen scribbled, “Lily, Atlas tells you to keep going.” This indicates that Lily should continue swimming, symbolizing perseverance.

In the movie adaptation, neither Ellen nor Lily’s mother have as significant roles as they do in the book. Unlike in the novel where Lily’s mom accompanies her to Boston and spends considerable time with her, in the film, her mother appears in just a handful of scenes.

In the film, only one scene features Ryle’s mother from England, and she is absent in the movie. Additionally, several characters who play minor roles in Lily’s life are not included in the movie adaptation. These include Lucy, Lily’s roommate who eventually works at her flower shop in the sequel book “It Starts With Us”, and Devin, a former colleague of Lily, who was present at Allysa’s birthday party with Lily, and temporarily pretended to be her boyfriend to annoy Ryle.

In a scene, it’s shown that Atlas’ restaurant colleagues Brad, Darin, and Jimmy – who enjoy playing poker with Lily – are all let go as well.

The portrayal of domestic violence in the film differs significantly from the books, with certain scenes having distinct variations or even opposite sequences. In the book, Ryle doesn’t shove Lily until he’s attempting to cool his burned hand under the sink after touching a hot surface; instead, the incident occurs immediately following the burn in the movie.

In that particular scene within the novel, it’s implied that Lily is portrayed as being unable to control her laughter due to intoxication (until Ryle becomes violent). The author writes that Ryle scolds her, saying, “Lily, this isn’t funny. This hand represents my very future.

Following his actions of pushing Lily down the staircase in the story, she subsequently evicts Ryle from their apartment, forcing him to spend the entire night in the hallway.

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 updated film version, there’s a heartfelt discussion between Lily and her sister-in-law Allyssa (played by Jenny Slate) following Lily discovering Ryle’s history of abuse, including an incident where he accidentally shot his brother as children. Contrastingly, in the book, it is Ryle who confides in Lily about how his brother met his end, and Allyssa doesn’t advise Lily against reconsidering her relationship with Ryle due to his abusive behavior.

In the book, although it shares a similar meaning, Atlas’ restaurant isn’t called “Root”. Instead, it goes by “Bib’s”, which is derived from their teenage catchphrase “Better in Boston”. This alteration helps those who haven’t read the book grasp how deeply Atlas cherishes Lily, as Colleen pointed out.

In her conversation with TopMob News, Colleen clarified that the original restaurant name held a profound significance in the novel, which was crucial for Lily to express her importance to the character. However, due to time constraints, they decided to change it to “Root” in the film, as they couldn’t fully incorporate all the intricate details from the book that made that pivotal moment impactful.

Indeed, the name “Root” does tie into a dialogue that transpires between Lily and Atlas, a point that Lily addresses about Atlas in her book when writing to Ellen.

Lily points out, “Certain entities, such as trees, possess a robustness that allows them to stand independently without any external assistance.” She adds, observing Atlas, “He seems incredibly resilient, far more so than I could ever manage if I found myself in similar circumstances.

In the book, it turns out that Ryle and Lily get married with Allysa, Marshall (Hasan Minhaj), and their families present as witnesses. The movie, however, moves through this significant event rather briskly. Unlike the film adaptation, the book features Lily’s mother in attendance, suggesting 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 gives birth to and names their child Emerson Dory – a tribute to both Ryle and Atlas. The name Emerson honors Ryle’s deceased brother, while Dory pays homage to their mutual fondness for Ellen DeGeneres, whom they both admire.

In my perspective as a lifestyle expert, the film primarily focuses on Emerson, yet it’s worth noting that Allysa and Marshall welcome their newborn baby in the storyline. Interestingly, the movie doesn’t reveal that they named their daughter Rylee after Allysa’s brother Ryle, which is a significant detail left untold.

The characters might not be dressed exactly as readers imagined them. Interestingly, the adaptation of It Ends With Us faced some strong criticism once costume photos leaked from the set. However, the book doesn’t provide extensive descriptions of clothing; it mentions specific outfits sparingly such as Ryle’s scrubs or Lily wearing a loose sweater.

As for what Colleen had to say about the backlash?

She shared with Today that she never recalls focusing on people’s outfits. Instead, her attention lies primarily on their conversation topics and the narrative they are weaving – a similar approach she employs when watching movies.

2024-12-22 02:48

Blake Lively’s Complaint Accuses Justin Baldoni of Smear Campaign

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