I can’t help but feel like the shoe is finally dropping after a while very In late fall, Blake Lively officially accused her It ends with us Director and co-star Justin Baldoni alleges sexual harassment on the film’s set. In a complaint filed with the California Department of Civil Rights, Lively accuses Baldoni of improvising unwanted kisses and discussing inappropriate sexual topics with her on the film’s set. She also accused a producer on the film, Jamey Heath (CEO of Wayfarer Studios, which Baldoni co-founded), of acting similarly inappropriately.

Here’s a description from the complaint, per The New York Timesabout a meeting Lively held during the film’s production to address the issues: “She alleged that Mr. Baldoni improvised unwanted kisses and discussed his sex life, including encounters in which he said he may not have received consent.” Mr. Heath showed her a video of his wife being naked, she said, and he saw Ms. Lively in their trailer when she was topless and her body makeup was being removed, even though she had asked him to look away . She said both men repeatedly entered her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including while she was breastfeeding.” Lively’s complaint also (per diversity) says that Sony Pictures agreed to a request from her that Baldoni not add any instances of “sex scenes, oral sex, or on-camera climaxes” to the film that were not already included in the script, which she approved before filming began, and initiating a campaign of “social manipulation” to “destroy” her reputation.

Rumors of a problematic production are circulating It ends with us began making the rounds long before the film’s release, although both Lively and Baldoni made at least minor efforts to ensure a smooth appearance while the film was actually premiering. (With a fairly big hit, grossing $350 million, a rarity for a low-budget romantic drama.) Since then, however The New York Times reports that Lively apparently collected receipts: Her complaint includes “excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails obtained through a subpoena” that document communications with publicists allegedly hired by Baldoni and Heath “to “To prevent stories about Mr. Baldoni’s behavior from amplifying negative statements about Ms. Lively.” also mentioned) are said to have “buried” Lively. The words “social struggle” appear in texts between the publicists, some of whom have previously worked with Johnny Depp in his conflicts with ex-wife Amber Heard; The times piece has one much full of details and quotes designed to show how people in PR management talk to each other about how to manipulate the public narrative, and it’s fascinating in a very uncomfortable way.

All of this took place while Lively and Baldoni were there Also in a semi-public tug of war over the film itself; although the Just The article states that Baldoni and Heath’s behavior on set improved after the aforementioned meeting. Lively also decided to create his own cut of the film and present it as an alternative to Baldoni’s. (Sony ultimately chose Lively’s version, which was apparently the reason she was a producer on the film.) All of the above situations began to come to light shortly before the film’s release, when it was noticed that Lively and Baldoni They didn’t follow each other on social media and the director didn’t have his picture taken with most movie stars.

An attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer issued a lengthy statement denying all of Lively’s claims. He called the complaint “a desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation” and described her claims as “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.” The statement alleges that the text messages cited in the complaint (and the Just article, which notes that some of them appeared to contain detailed plans to potentially unofficially leak stories about Lively to press outlets) were merely “internal scenario planning and private strategizing correspondence.” In her own statement to the press, Lively wrote: “I hope my legal action will help lift the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics that harm people who speak out about wrongdoing and protect others who may be involved be targeted.”