LOS ANGELES – Hollywood stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel have publicly backed US actress Blake Lively after she filed a legal complaint against It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni. Ms Lively filed the legal complaint over the weekend against Mr Baldoni, alleging harassment abuse and a campaign to “destroy” her reputation. Mr Baldoni’s legal team told the BBC on Saturday that the allegations are “categorically false”. Ferrera, Tamblyn and Bledel, who starred with Lively in 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, issued a joint statement on Instagram on Sunday saying they “stand with her in solidarity”. Colleen Hoover, the author of It Ends With Us, also showed her support, describing Ms Lively as “honest, kind, supportive and patient”. Lawyers for Ms Lively say the legal complaint follows a meeting earlier this year to address “repeated harassment abuse and other disturbing behaviour” by Baldoni, her co-star and a producer on the movie. In their statement, Ferrera, Tamblyn and Bledel said: “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. “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.”They added: “Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors’ stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding.
“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,” the statement added. “We are inspired by our sister’s courage to stand up for herself and others.” Lawyers for Mr Baldoni said they hired a crisis manager because Ms Lively had threatened to derail the film unless her demands were met.
