Actor Brandon Sklenar backs Blake Lively in harassment lawsuit

Brandon Sklenar, who portrayed Lily Bloom's first love in the film "It Ends With Us," sided with Blake Lively, who accused Justin Baldoni of harassment and orchestrating a hate campaign against her. Sklenar posted on Instagram with an appeal: "For the love of God, read this," referring to Lively's complaint against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios.

Sklenar, who portrayed the character of Atlas Corrigan in the film, joined the group of people publicly supporting Lively. This group includes the author of the book "It Ends With Us," Colleen Hoover, actresses from "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," Amber Heard, and director Paul Feig. Sony Pictures, the film's distributor, also expressed support for Lively, condemning any attacks on the actress.

SAG-AFTRA, an organisation representing actors, also stood by Lively, emphasising that actors have the right to report misconduct. "These are startling and troubling allegations. Employees have every right to raise issues of concern or to file complaints. Retaliation for reporting misconduct or inappropriate behaviour is illegal and wrong," the statement read.

As a result of Lively's accusations, Justin Baldoni was removed from the WME agency, which also represents Lively. This shows how seriously the film industry takes such allegations. Meanwhile, Baldoni's lawyers are on the defensive. Bryan Freedman, representing the actor, claims that now it's Blake Lively who is running a smear campaign against his client, attempting to ruin his career. He claims that the star behaved without class and respect for the production during the promotion of "It Ends With Us." He also noted that Baldoni received "threats by two extremely powerful people with unlimited resources." Who are they? He did not reveal their names.

"It Ends With Us" has been surrounded by controversy from the start. The book addresses the topic of domestic violence, and some believe it justifies the behaviour of abusers. These accusations also surfaced after the film's release. Nevertheless, it was a hit in cinemas and later on streaming platforms. During the promotion of the title, rumours about a toxic relationship between Lively and Baldoni emerged. The actor and director of "It Ends..." promoted the film separately without his co-star. There were no joint photos or interviews. It was also noted that the stars of the production do not follow Baldoni on Instagram at all. It may seem trivial, but in today's pop culture, it's significant.

In recent months, according to the foreign press, Blake and her legal team have been preparing a lawsuit against Baldoni, gathering evidence, including private correspondence between the actor and a PR firm tasked with tarnishing Lively's image online. The actress alleges that on set, she was forced to watch indecent videos presented by Baldoni, listen to questions about her intimate life, or perform in improvised intimate scenes to which she had not previously agreed. The case is ongoing.