Originally appeared on E! Online
Talent agency WME has dropped Justin Baldoni as a client following news Blake Lively had accused him in a legal complaint of sexual harassment, The New York Times — citing exec Ari Emanuel — confirmed.
E! has reached out for comment from Baldoni and WME for comment and has not heard back.
Meanwhile, the 'Gossip Girl' alum remains a client of the agency, per Deadline.
On Dec. 21, the NYT reported that Lively filed the documents with the California Civil Rights Department, alleging that her 'It Ends With Us' director and costar engaged in "sexually inappropriate behavior" on the set of the film and later used a crisis PR expert to launch a smear campaign against her after she complained about him to their coproducers of the movie.
In response to the allegations laid out in the complaint — a precursor to a lawsuit and which followed months of rumors of a rift between Lively and Baldoni — the director's lawyer Bryan Freedman called the actress' accusations "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."
READ Blake Lively Accuses It Ends With Us' Justin Baldoni of Sexual Harassment
In her legal filing, Lively accused Baldoni in her legal complaint of inserting "improvised gratuitous sexual content and/or scenes involving nudity" into It Ends With Us without her consent and of entering her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including when she was breastfeeding her baby, the youngest of her and husband Ryan Reynolds' four children.
Lively also accused the director of "intrusively asking" her a question about her sex life with the Deadpool actor after sharing an intimate anecdote about his and his partner's relationship while discussing a scene for It Ends With Us. She also alleged Baldoni — who has been married to wife Emily since 2013 — referenced "his experiences with pornography" in other conversations.
In addition, the 37-year-old alleged in her legal complaint that the "Jane the Virgin alum" "claimed he could speak to the dead, and on several occasions told her that he had spoken to her dead father."
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Lively stated in the filing that she reported Baldoni's alleged behavior to his production company Wayfarer Studios, which the 40-year-old had cofounded and which is named as a defendant. She alleged that this past January, the group executed a contractual rider in which they agreed to implement several safeguards, including a full-time intimacy coordinator.
The group also agreed not to retaliate against the actress, Lively's filing states. But months later, she alleges, the director's PR team "engaged in a sophisticated, coordinated, and well-financed retaliation plan" against her.
The complaint states that they "created, planted, amplified, and boosted content designed to eviscerate" her credibility," bolster Baldoni's and "suppress any negative content about him."
In his statement to The New York Times, Baldoni's lawyer called Lively's accusations a "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."
In her own statement to the newspaper, Lively said, "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."
