By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-23 14:51:54 | Updated at 2024-12-23 19:11:10
4 hours ago
Justin Baldoni swerved questions about his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively in an 'awkward' interview which has resurfaced in the wake of her sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
The director, 40, is being sued by Lively, 37, over allegations he fostered a toxic working environment during filming for the movie and tried to tarnish her reputation following its release. He has denied the accusations.
Rumors about tensions on set began to swirl during the film's promotional run this summer, but the bombshell filings released over the weekend laid bare the depth of friction between the actors.
Baldoni was interviewed by E! News earlier this month about what it was like to work with Lively.
The actor can be seen taking a pause before he responds: 'As I've said before, Blake is so creative and she works so hard. This movie would not have been the same without her.'
Asked about the possibility of a sequel, Baldoni takes a breath and looks away before gently shutting it down.
'You know I've been hearing the sequel conversations. You know people ask me all the time about sequels.
'We are in this place where we are...' he trails off before resuming, 'Just trying to be in the moment.
Justin Baldoni swerved questions about his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively in an 'awkward' interview which has resurfaced in the wake of her sexual harassment lawsuit against him
'I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude for the lives that this has impacted and the lives that this has changed. So we're not even thinking about a sequel right now.'
While Baldoni appears relaxed under the questioning, fans claimed they could see through the façade.
'He's basically saying "No" in a very a classy way,' one person wrote.
'He danced around the question. "She worked hard" = she's terrible to work with, "focus on the now" = hell no I don't want to work with her again,' another added.
'Hmm I find his response in these interviews interesting after reading the subpoenaed documents,' one person said.
Lively submitted pages of text messages and documents as part of her lawsuit, which she claims shows Baldoni and his team orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
The messages include references from Baldoni's crisis management team about how they could 'bury' the Gossip Girl actress.
The duo starred opposite each other in the hotly-anticipated film adaptation of the popular Colleen Hoover novel by the same name earlier this year.
The director, 40, is being sued by Lively, 37, over allegations he fostered a toxic working environment during filming for the movie
Baldoni spoke highly of Lively in the interview, despite their behind-the-scenes clashes
He also gently shut down the suggestion of a sequel when asked about it in an interview earlier this month
However, its release was mired by a series of scandals after fans picked up on tensions between its leads.
Lively has claimed Baldoni made inappropriate inquiries about her weight, comments about her dead father and sexual remarks about the cast and crew.
The situation became so unworkable that she and husband Ryan Reynolds demanded crisis talks during filming to put a stop to the behavior, according to the lawsuit.
Lively also requested: 'No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL [Blake Lively] outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project,' per the filings.
Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman hit back at the lawsuit as, 'false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt'.
He insisted the legal action is an attempt by Lively to 'fix her negative reputation' after rumors emerged of diva-like behavior on set.
This included, 'threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release,' according to Freedman.
