Sony Breaks Silence on Blake Lively's Lawsuit Against Justin Baldoni

It ends with us Studio Sony Pictures and SAG-AFTRA released statements of support Blake Lively between his allegations against the cosar and the director Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and organizing a smear campaign.

“In the past we have expressed our support for Blake regarding his work and the film. We are fully and strongly emphasizing that support today,” a Sony spokesperson said Variety in a statement on Monday, December 23. “Furthermore, we strongly condemn any attack on his name. Any such attacks have no place in our business or society.”

A few hours earlier, the Screen Actors Guild – the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists also spoke out against the “shocking and disturbing allegations” in a statement to Deadlinenoting that they “applaud” Lively's “courage to speak out about issues of revenge and abuse and the request to have an intimate partner in all nude or sexual scenes.”

“This is an important step to help ensure a safe environment,” a spokesperson for the agency told the outlet on Monday. “Employees have every right to express their concerns or file complaints. Retaliation for reporting misconduct or inappropriate behavior is illegal and wrong. We all have the right to be treated with dignity and respect at work and to work in an environment free from harassment, discrimination and retaliation.”

Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, 40, on Friday, December 20, claiming he created a “hostile work environment.” It ends with us set and caused i Gossip Girl alum “extreme emotional distress.” The lawsuit also alleges that Baldoni and his team began a campaign of “public deception” against Lively to damage her reputation.

Documents, found by Us Weekly after it was first reported by TMZ again The New York Timessaid a meeting was held during the film's production in January to discuss Lively's claims against her costar, which included “no more nude videos or images of women being shown to Blake, not to mention that Baldoni was a former “porn addict”. being sexually defeated in front of Blake and the others, no more mention of the staff's genitalia, no more questions about Blake's weight, and no more mention of Blake's genitalia. dead father.”

Baldoni vehemently denied the allegations against him. In a statement to UsBaldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman called Lively's claims “absolutely false, offensive and intentionally rewarding,” saying she filed the lawsuit to “rehabilitate her bad reputation” and “refresh the narrative” about the film's production. He said Lively made “many demands and threats,” including “threats to not show up, threats not to promote the film, which led to it being destroyed at the time of release, if her demands weren't met.”

About Lively's campaign's allegations of defamation — including messages from Baldoni and his team — Freedman said. Us Agency Group PR, which was hired by Baldoni and is one of several companies named in the lawsuit, “acted like any other disaster management company when hired by a client facing a threat from two very powerful people with unlimited resources.”

Freedman also said the documents were taken out of context. “The standard setting for TAG PR proved unnecessary as the audience found Lively's actions, interviews and marketing during the promotional tour distasteful, and automatically responded to what the media picked up on themselves,” he continued. “It's strange that New York Timesin their attempt to 'unmask' a covert PR effort, played right into the hands of Lively's questionable PR tactics by publishing leaked personal messages with no sensitive context – the very tactics the company accuses of using.”

Sony and SAG-AFTRA are the latest to speak out in support of Lively. It ends with us the writer Colleen Hoover took to social media on Saturday, December 21, praising Lively for simply being “honest, kind, supportive and patient from day one.”

Lively and Baldoni's costar Brandon Sklenar he came again Simple Grace star's defense, sharing The NYT He addressed the allegations on his Instagram story on Monday. “For the love of god read this,” she wrote via the link in the caption, tagging Lively and adding a red heart emoji.

Baldoni, meanwhile, has been dropped by her agency WME, which also represents Lively and her husband. Ryan Reynolds. Host of his “Man Enough” podcast, Liz Plankshe also announced her exit on Monday and the women's non-profit organization Vital Voices is withdrawing its Voices of Solidarity Award, which Baldoni was presented with last week.