In September, the Viking Views broke down the beginning of the drama, so if you have not yet read that, do so before this. It Ends With Lively
On social media, rumors and accusations have been floating around for months.
Here is a closer look at one of the largest scandals of 2024, the controversy between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni over It Ends With Us.
Since they began working on the film, Lively and Baldoni have not gotten along.
With their hit movie’s release, it became public knowledge that the two have had disagreements about how the movie should be promoted.
Lively treated the project as light-hearted and a way to promote her brands; Baldoni focused on spreading awareness for domestic violence.
However, it wasn’t until recently that the depth of their rivalry was revealed.
An article from BBC News said, “Four months after the film’s launch, Lively filed a legal complaint against Mr. Baldoni in which she accused him of sexual harassment.”
When claims of sexual harassment were first announced via the New York Times, many were astonished.
People were conflicted with who to believe, as Baldoni appeared deeply opposed to what he was being accused of.
The same BBC News article said, “In the filing, Ms Lively also alleges that Mr. Baldoni and his team attacked her public image after the meeting.”
Lively has been receiving lots of hate from the internet for her overall personality and attitude towards others.
Because of people’s opinions on her, the main conspiracy was that she was exaggerating or faking these claims to get back at Baldoni.
An article from Independent Newssaid, “The lawsuit also alleges that fan backlash was part of a carefully orchestrated effort by Baldoni’s PR team, whose lawyers have counter-alleged that Lively’s lawsuit is likewise an attempt to ‘fix her negative reputation.’”
It wasn’t long after these accusations were released to the public until Baldoni rushed to defend his name and reputation.
BBC News, “On 31 December, Baldoni’s lawyers filed a $250m libel lawsuit against New York Times,” and 2 weeks later, “filed a lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for $400m.”
Since the lawsuit, Lively’s legal team has fired back at all statements and claims made by Baldoni’s lawyers.
BBC News further reported, “In response, Lively’s legal team described the lawsuit as ‘another chapter in the abuser playbook.’”
The main accusations Lively is making are about Baldoni taking it too far in intimate scenes.
Baldoni’s team released video evidence in return, trying to prove her claims to be exaggerated and false.
An article from Entertainment Weekly said, “Lively’s legal team also slammed the release of the video itself as opposed to showing it as evidence in court as “another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public” and “a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign.”
All the evidence being released is having fans question if they should always believe the victim, or if there are exceptions in cases such as this one.
The public legal battles are continuing to unfold and get more messy as time goes on.
As more information gets released, the more everyone continues to be distracted from the real, inspiring message of the movie.
