Blake Lively‘s fellow Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants stars posted a message of support for the actress on Instagram on Sunday.
The post came a day after news surfaced that Lively had filed a lengthy complaint against Justin Baldoni, her It Ends With Us co-star and the film’s director, for sexual harassment and an alleged coordinated effort to destroy her reputation.
On Sunday, Lively’s Sisterhood castmates — America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel — posted a joint message of support for the actress.
“As Blake’s friends and sisters for over 20 years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation,” they wrote. “Throughout the filming of It Ends With Us, we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice. Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors’ stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding.”
They continued: “We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment. We are inspired by our sister’s courage to stand up for herself and others.”
The message was signed by Ferrera, Tamblyn and Bledel. Ferrera and Tamblyn each shared from their respective accounts (Bledel does not appear to be actively posting on Instagram).
According to Lively’s complaint, which was filed Friday, an all-hands-on-deck meeting was held during filming to address her claims of a hostile work environment. According to TMZ, Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, was among those who attended that meeting.
During that meeting, Lively reportedly demanded that Baldoni stop the following alleged actions: showing nude videos or images of women to the actress, mentioning his alleged previous “pornography addiction,” discussion his sexual experiences in front of Lively and others, mentioning the cast and crew’s genitalia and asking about Lively’s weight.
Lively additionally claimed that Baldoni and company allegedly engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation. The filing includes 22 pages of texts from Baldoni’s publicist to TAG’s Melissa Nathan, who heads her own crisis PR firm, about how he “wants to feel like [Ms. Lively] can be buried,” to which Nathan replied, “we can’t write we will destroy her.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Lively said, “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.”
Bryan Freedman, the attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and all its representatives, released a statement slamming Lively’s claims. “It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions,” Freedman wrote.
After news of Lively’s complaint broke, WME dropped Baldoni as a client. The agency also reps Lively and Reynolds.
