Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Sony Pictures
Colleen Hoover, the bestselling author of "It Ends with Us," has thrown her support behind Blake Lively after Lively sued her costar, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment, retaliation, and coordinating attempts to damage her reputation.
In an Instagram Stories post, Hoover linked out to a New York Times report on the situation and wrote: "@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met."
"Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt," she added, possibly referencing Lively's character Lily Bloom's profession as a florist.
In the lawsuit, obtained by Business Insider, Lively said she had attended a meeting with Baldoni — who also directed the movie adaptation of Hoover's novel — and producer Jamey Heath during filming to address the "hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production of the Film."
The meeting is said to have resulted in all parties agreeing to a number of stipulations, including "no more showing nude videos or images of women, including the producer's wife," to Lively or her employees.
It also required "no more mention of Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath's previous 'pornography addiction' or BL's lack of pornography consumption to BL or to other crew members," the complaint said.
The suit goes on to accuse Baldoni and his team of running a smear campaign against Lively.
Lively faced backlash during the film's promotional tour, with many social media users criticizing her lighthearted marketing approach. Baldoni, on the other hand, received praise for highlighting the serious topics raised in the movie.
Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios, said in a statement that the claims made in the complaint were "categorically false" and "intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."
"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," the statement said.
Business Insider has contacted Freedman and Wayfarer Studios for comment.
