The sisterhood reigns on.
Actresses America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel released a joint statement on Sunday, standing “in solidarity” with their “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” co-star, Blake Lively, who is currently embattled in a lawsuit with actor Justin Baldoni, her costar and the director of her 2024 film, “It Ends with Us.”
“As Blake’s friends and sisters for over twenty years, we stand with her in solidarity as she fights back against the reported campaign waged to destroy her reputation,” the women 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.”
Per the lawsuit, following an “all-hands” meeting between Lively and Baldoni, as well as some production staff, the actress requested several measures be implemented to ensure a conducive, safe space.
The following are just some of the provisions agreed upon by all parties:
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“Most upsetting is the unabashed exploitation of domestic violence survivors’ stories to silence a woman who asked for safety. The hypocrisy is astounding,” the statement of Ferrera, Tamblyn and Bledel continued. The film depicts an abusive relationship between Lively and Baldoni’s characters. The film is based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel.
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“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.”
Representatives for Lively and Baldoni did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the statement.
The four women have maintained a strong friendship since “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” premiered in 2005. The series, also based on a book of the same name, included a sequel film that was released in 2008.
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As Fox News Digital previously reported, Lively is suing Baldoni and his production company, WayFarer Studios (which produced “It Ends with Us”), as well as several individuals for a litany of things, including sexual harassment, negligence, interference with prospective economic advantage, intentional affliction of emotional distress, and more.
Lively’s team is also suing for retaliation, alleging that Baldoni and WayFarer Studios “embarked on a sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation for Ms. Lively exercising her legally-protected right to speak up about their misconduct on the set, with the additional objective of intimidating her and anyone else from revealing in public what actually occurred,” as written in the filing.
Per the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital, a “Scenario Planning Document” was sent from a hired crisis management team to Baldoni, Heath and others, which laid out three likely scenarios that Lively and her team might utilize and, conversely, how Baldoni’s team would respond if she chose to “make her grievances public.” Lively’s attorney claims in the filing that Baldoni’s hired crisis PR manager, Melissa Nathan, distributed the document on Aug. 2, 2024, “to advance misleading counternarratives.”
One course of action the team could take, as written in the document, would be to “explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in BL [Lively]’s circle, like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want.”
Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer, told The New York Times, “These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
Freedman added that Wayfarer, and its executives and PR team “did nothing proactive nor retaliated” against Lively. Freedman claims Lively’s complaint is “another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation.”
Representatives for Baldoni, including Freedman, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s previous request for comment.
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