Blake Lively has received support from Colleen Hoover in the wake of her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
The 37-year-old actress has taken legal action against her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director, accusing him of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign against her.
Hours after her complaint was made public, the 45-year-old author - who wrote the novel the movie is based on - took to her Instagram Story to heap praise on the "honest, kind [and] supportive" star.
Hoover shared a photo of herself and Lively hugging at a screening of the movie and, alongside a link to The New York Times' article on the situation, 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."
Lively submitted her 10-claim complaint with the California Civil Rights Department late on Friday, December 20, in which she accused Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios and others involved with making the movie of sexual harassment and a "co-ordinated effort to destroy her reputation".
The star claimed the film was shot amid a “hostile work environment that nearly derailed production” and alleged a campaign against her was launched by the actor - who also directed the movie - and his company after its release.
One of the demands mentioned in the lawsuit called for “no more adding of sex scenes ... outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project.”
Lively also demanded “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni's alleged previous ‘pornography addiction’, no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew's genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake's weight and no further mention of Blake's dead father”.
According to the lawsuit, Sony Pictures - the company responsible for distributing the film - approved the former “Gossip Girl” star's requests. But the actress has alleged that Baldoni subsequently engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign in a bid to “destroy” her reputation.
The actor - who has been dropped by his talent agency, WME in the wake of the claims - has denied the allegations and accused her of making an attempt to “fix” her own “negative reputation”.
Bryan Freedman, who is acting as a lawyer for the actor and his Wayfarer Studios production company, told “Variety”: “It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions.”