Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us co-star Jenny Slate breaks silence on Justin Baldoni lawsuit

Jenny Slate has spoken out in support of her It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively amid the latter’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.

Lively sued Baldoni last week, accusing him of sexually harassing her and fostering a toxic work environment on the set of It Ends With Us, in which he both directed her and acted with her. He has staunchly denied the allegations.

In her complaint, Lively claimed Baldoni worked to tarnish her reputation with a team that included his publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis PR expert Melissa Nathan, who previously worked with Johnny Depp. Abel has denied waging a ‘smear campaign.’

Since filing suit, Lively has been publicly defended by both her co-star Brandon Sklenar and Colleen Hoover, the author of the novel on which the film is based.

Now Slate, 42, who played the sister of Baldoni’s character in the movie, has added her voice to the choir in a statement to the Today show.

‘As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation,’ she said.

‘Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her. What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.’

Her statement comes the day after Sklenar took to his Instagram Stories to share a link to a New York Times article that includes the lengthy legal complaint against Baldoni, 40.

Over the link to the report he wrote: ‘For the love of God, read this.’

He also tagged Lively, 37, in his post and added a red heart emoji next to her name. 

In the film adaptation of It Ends With Us, which is based on the romance novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, Sklenar plays Atlas Corrigan, the childhood friend, first boyfriend and first love of Lively’s character, Lily Bloom. 

On Friday, December 20, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in the California Civil Rights Department, accusing him of sexual harassment and spearheading an alleged smear campaign as retaliation for her raising concerns about his inappropriate behavior on set.

The 1923 star previously issued a statement urging fans not to ‘vilify’ the women in the movie amid the drama and controversy that was beginning to stir during their promo tour over the summer.

At the time, Lively was the target of backlash after clearly avoiding Baldoni while fulfilling her obligations to promote the movie.

When fans noticed that Lively unfollowed him, as well as a number of their fellow castmates, on social media, rumors of a feud between the leads ensued.  

In her lawsuit, she claims it was Baldoni’s smear campaign against her — which allegedly included resurfacing footage of Lively’s past interviews, which fans found distasteful — that triggered a flood of negative responses across social media.

Fans on social media also bashed the Gossip Girl star for her seemingly lighthearted behavior and occasionally sarcastic responses in interviews and while discussing domestic abuse, a major subject of It Ends with Us.

Back in August, Sklenar shared an Instagram post urging fans to not ‘vilify’ the women behind the movie.

He asked fans to focus on message of It Ends With Us, which is centered around domestic violence and a traumatic love story.

Perhaps through additional subtext, he also suggested that the film is a ‘harsh reality check for the men who need to get their s*** together and take responsibility for themselves and their actions.’

‘Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about. It is, in fact, the opposite of the point,’ he wrote. 

‘What may or may not have happened behind the scenes does not and hopefully should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film.’ 

Sklenar added: ‘It’s been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online.’ 

He also noted that ‘someone very close to me’ has been experiencing a similarly, toxic relationship as shown in the movie, which he said ‘saved her life,’ and said he feels a ‘responsibility to bring this to life and help spread that message further.’ 

Sklenar is not the only one who worked on It Ends With Us and has also spoken up in support of Lively. 

Several days earlier, just shortly after Lively’s filing, Hoover — who also served as an executive producer for the adaptation — broke her silence on the lawsuit between her two leads. 

She shared a photo of herself and Lively posing together that appeared to be from their promo tour.

Addressing the actress, Hoover wrote: ‘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,’ she added. ‘Never change. Never wilt.’ 

In addition to Sklenar and Hoover, a slew of A-list stars have also come forward to defend the actress. 

Her former costars from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants — America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel — shared a joint statement applauding their longtime ‘friend and sister’ for ‘fighting back’ against Baldoni. 

Director Paul Feig, who worked with Lively on A Simple Favor and its sequel, also spoke out in favor of the actress. 

He wrote that she ‘truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her,’ adding that he believes it was ‘awful she was put through this.’ 

Amber Heard also weighed in on the ordeal and said she knows far too well how it feels to be on the receiving end of a smear campaign.’ 

Comedian Amy Schumer also showed her support for Lively, simply writing on her Instagram Stories: ‘I believe Blake.’