Justin Baldoni ‘dropped by agent’ hours after Blake Lively sues him for sexual harassment and 'social manipulation'
Justin Baldoni has been 'dropped' by his talent agent following Blake Lively's lawsuit against the actor, it has been reported.
On Saturday (21 December), it was revealed that Lively is suing Baldoni over allegations of sexual harassment and 'destroying' her reputation via an supposed 'social manipulation' campaign.
Baldoni and the Gossip Girl star had starred in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends With Us, with the filmmaker also having directed the project.
In the legal complaint, Lively claimed that Baldoni's behaviour had caused 'severe emotional distress' for her and her family.
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Baldoni's lawyer has denied the claims made in the lawsuit, branding them 'categorically false' and accusing Lively of planting fake stories in a 'desperate attempt to fix her negative reputation'.
His lawyer said the allegations are 'false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt'.
However, Lively has denied that she or her representatives had spread negative information about Baldoni or Wayfayer Studios, which he co-owns, telling The New York Times: "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
Now, Baldoni has been dropped by WME, his and Lively's talent agency, Deadline reports.
According to the publication, the agency reportedly dropped Baldoni on 22 December due in part to the complaint filed by Lively on Friday (19 December).
The star's legal complaint lists a number of alleged behaviour from Baldoni and the film's lead producer, Jamey Heath.
According to Lively, this included 'gratuitous sexual content' being allegedly added on after she signed onto the film, improvised intimacy on-set, 'lack of boundaries' from Baldoni and Heath, as well as alleged comments about her appearance and her deceased father.
She also accused Baldoni of a deliberate smear campaign to 'destroy' her reputation.
The complaint was published via The New York Times, and a subpoena revealed numerous alleged text messages between Baldoni's team, PR veteran Jennifer Abel and crisis management expert, Melissa Nathan.
In a conversation reported to be between Nathan and Abel, Nathan is told by Abel that he 'wants to feel like she can be buried', with Nathan responding: "We can't write we will destroy her."
According to the complaint, an alleged meeting took place, which Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, was also said to be in attendance, in which the star laid out her requests that included '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'.
She also allegedly requested that Baldoni not add any 'sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing' prior to what she'd agreed to before filming.
LADbible has contacted representatives for Justin Baldoni for a comment.
Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity, Celebrity News
Danni King