Brandon Sklenar, star of the Colleen Hoover adaptation It Ends With Us, has publicly expressed support for his castmate Blake Lively following her allegations against director and costar Justin Baldoni.
In a legal complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department and obtained by E! News, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign in retaliation after she raised concerns about his behavior on set.
Advertisement Sklenar, who played Atlas Corrigan in the film alongside Lively as Lily Bloom and Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid, took to Instagram on December 23 to address the accusations. He shared a link to a New York Times article featuring the full details of Lively’s complaint, captioning it with a pointed message: “For the love of god read this.” Sklenar also tagged Lively’s handle, adding a heart emoji to show his solidarity.
Sklenar is not the only member of the It Ends With Us cast and crew to voice support for Lively. Author Colleen Hoover, who wrote the bestselling novel and served as an executive producer on the movie, shared her own heartfelt message on Instagram Stories the day the complaint became public.
“You have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” Hoover wrote, accompanying a photo of herself hugging Lively. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
Lively’s accusations have also drawn support from several high-profile figures, including Gwyneth Paltrow, A Simple Favor director Paul Feig, and her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, and Alexis Bledel.
Baldoni, through his attorney Bryan Freedman, has denied the allegations, calling them “categorically false” in a statement to The New York Times on December 21. Freedman described the legal filing 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.”
As the controversy unfolds, Lively continues to receive public backing from colleagues and supporters in Hollywood.
Source: E News