Featured Image Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic via Getty/Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership
Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity
Emily Brown
Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity
Court documents outlining Blake Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni have offered insight as to why the Gossip Girl star mentioned her children in the case.
News of Lively's lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star emerged last week when a complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department saw her accuse Baldoni of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment during their time filming the movie, which was released earlier this year.
Lively has made a series of accusations against Baldoni, including that he allegedly pressured her to carry out scenes in which she was 'mostly nude', and in one scene improvised numerous kisses and insisted on shooting the full scene 'over and over again'.
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The actor also accuses Baldoni of launching a 'smear campaign' against her; one which she claims impacted her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and their four children.
Offering further insight into the allegations which relate to Lively's children, the court documents state: “Worst of all, however, has been the impact on their young children, who have been traumatized, and emotionally uprooted in ways that have substantially impacted their well-being.”
"Mr. Reynolds, too, has been affected mentally, physically, and professionally by his wife and children’s pain," the documents allege.
Elsewhere in the filing, Lively makes reference more specifically to her one-year-old son, Olin.
Lively welcomed Olin shortly before filming on It Ends With Us began, and she has now claimed in the documents that he became at risk while on set with her.
The reason why Lively mentioned Olin is because both he and Lively herself caught Covid-19 while on set, which the actor has claimed was due to a lack of protections.
The documents allege that Lively 'expressed her upset' that neither Baldoni nor Jamey Heath, the chief executive officer of Wayfarer Studios, had told her she had been exposed to Covid-19, and claim: "Instead of acknowledging responsibility and committing to safety moving forward, they expressed upset over production days missed and resulting costs."
"Ms. Lively was told by another producer that Wayfarer did not have insurance coverage for COVID," the documents add. "Mr. Baldoni deliberately withheld from Ms. Lively that she had been exposed to COVID. Both Ms. Lively and her infant child contracted COVID from the outbreak."
As a result of Lively and Olin's exposure, as well as other alleged incidents, Lively decided to lay out a list of conditions that were to be met if she was to continue working on the movie.
Lively presented the list when production resumed after the WGA and SAG strikes, and she also included it in her legal filing.
The incident involving her youngest child was referenced in the list, which stated: "If BL and/or her infant is exposed to COVID again, BL must be provided with immediate notice as soon as Wayfarer or any other producers become aware of such exposure, without her needing to uncover days later herself."
Bryan Freedman, who is representing Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and all its representatives, has responded to Lively's allegations to describe them as 'categorically false'.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” he said, while also accusing Lively of using the complaint as an attempt to 'fix' a 'negative reputation'.