US actress Blake Lively has been supported by It Ends with Us author Colleen Hoover after accusing Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director in a film of the novel, of sexual harassment in a legal complaint.
Baldoni and the studio behind the romantic drama are accused of embarking on a "multi-tiered plan" to damage Lively's reputation.
This allegedly followed a meeting to address accusations against Baldoni and a producer of the film of alleged "repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour", according to the legal document shared by The New York Times.
In the complaint for damages, which precedes a lawsuit, Baldoni, his publicists, and Wayfarer Studios, are listed among the defendants.
It Ends with Us, based on Hoover's novel of the same name, is about a woman's pursuit of a loving and healthy relationship with Lively playing the lead character, Lily Bloom, and Baldoni as her love interest, Ryle Kincaid.
In a post to her Instagram stories, Hoover wrote: "@blakelively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met.
"Thank you for being exactly the human that you are.
"Never change. Never wilt."
She then linked to the New York Times article.
The article details the complaint including the allegation that Baldoni retained a crisis communications specialist who, with the director and "approval" of the studio, launched a "sophisticated, co-ordinated, and well-financed retaliation plan" creating "manufactured content" that would "influence public opinion".
Bryan Freedman, an attorney representing Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its representatives, told the US publication the allegations are "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious", adding that the studio "made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film".
"There were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario-planning and private correspondence to strategise, which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals," he said.
Rumours regarding a fractured relationship between Lively and Baldoni began around the film's release at the beginning of August.
In It Ends with Us, Lily (Lively) falls in love with Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) before reconnecting with her first love, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar) - amid a backdrop of domestic violence.
Baldoni is also known for his role as Rafael Solano in the telenovela Jane the Virgin and wrote a book called Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity about pushing back against traditional notions of masculinity.
Lively has four children with husband Ryan Reynolds, the Deadpool actor who is a co-owner of the football club Wrexham AFC.
She has starred in films including The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, The Age of Adaline, The Town, and A Simple Favour. She also played Serena van der Woodsen in the hit teen drama series Gossip Girl.
The PA news agency has approached Lively's representatives for comment.
Source: Press Association
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