Inside Blake Lively's fallout with co-star Justin Baldoni as she drops bombshell lawsuit

Blake's claims against It Ends with Us co-star Justin, from their backstage feud to alleged 'fat-shaming' on set and claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour

Blake Lively faced a public backlash over her latest film It Ends with Us - and now she is suing her co-star.

The 37-year-old actress, who shot to fame in Gossip Girl in the Naughties and is married to Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds, was accused of being "tone deaf" by not seeming to address the domestic violence theme of the movie when she promoted it over the summer. She has also faced accusations she is 'rude', with one source claiming "everyone was a little bit afraid" of Blake on set. Interactions with fans and unearthed clips from previous interviews only added to this.

And further claims suggest she used the film - which went on to flop at the box office - to inappropriately plug her hair and drinks brands. After apparently 'fearing her career was over', she is now suing her co-star Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film, for sexual harassment.

The 40-year-old has denied Blake's claims and in a statement via his lawyers said he believes it's a bid to 'fix her negative reputation.' Here we look at what Blake's claims against Justin are, from their reported backstage feud to alleged 'fat-shaming' on set and claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

'Bullying' claims and backstage fallout

Tensions between Blake and Justin began to show when the pair didn't pose together for photos at the film's premiere or do joint interviews. It was also noticed that Blake and some others connected to the film, including author Colleen, aren't following Justin on Instagram.

One source told Page Six that Justin created an "extremely difficult" atmosphere behind the scenes. They said: "None of the cast enjoyed working with Justin. They certainly didn't talk to him at the premiere." While Blake has been accused of 'bullying' Justin after it emerged she had allegedly taken control of the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's popular romance novel, despite Justin originally acquiring the movie rights.

Although Justin was the star, director, and producer, Blake, with the help of her husband Ryan Reynolds, ended up overseeing the final edit of the film, according to reports. This shift in control led to Justin not being credited as a producer and reportedly affected the film's promotion. He has since publicly suggested that Blake might be a better fit to direct any future sequels.

Speaking of their rumoured 'feud', a source told The Rolling Stone magazine: “Everyone knew that they [Blake and Justin] didn’t like each other. I don’t think they hate each other. But I don’t think they would work together again. Their styles are way too different. Blake is very business-minded and very practical. Justin … is so on the other side of why he makes art that they were never going to be friends."

On set 'fat-shaming'

Blake has also claimed that she felt 'fat-shamed' by Justin as they filmed scenes on set.

TMZ reports that ahead of a scene in which he had to lift her up, Justin - who's said to have a history of back problems - asked his on-set trainer how much she weighed and how could he train to protect himself from injury. Blake, who had given birth to her fourth baby - a son named Olin - just months prior, is said to have later found out and felt "fat-shamed" by the comments.

'Sexual harassment' lawsuit

In the new lawsuit Blake has filed against Justin months after the release of their It Ends with Us film, she claims he subjected her to a campaign of 'sexual harassment' which caused her 'severe emotional distress'.

According to legal papers seen by US outlet TMZ, Blake requested there should be "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."

Other demands mentioned in the lawsuit reportedly included there should be: "No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by Blake Lively outside the scope of the script Blake Lively approved when signing onto the project."

Justin denies claims and calls Blake 'shameful'

Justin's team have responded with a lengthy statement that said: "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.

"These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media. Wayfarer Studios made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film, to work alongside their own representative with Jonesworks employed by Stephanie Jones, due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.

"It was also discovered that Ms. Lively enlisted her own representative, Leslie Sloan with Vision PR, who also represents Mr. Reynolds, to plant negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media, even prior to any marketing commencing for the film, which was another reason why Wayfarer Studios made the decision to hire a crisis professional to commence internal scenario planning in the case they needed to address."

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