Blake Lively and Michele Morrone Getty Images (2)
Blake Lively’s A Simple Favor 2 costar Michele Morrone said she seemed in “pain” after her experience on the set of It Ends With Us.
The Italian actor and model, 34, shared a video via his Instagram Stories on Monday, December 23, expressing his support for Lively, 37, amid her sexual harassment lawsuit against her It Ends With Us director and costar Justin Baldoni.
“It’s usually not my thing to make those kinds of videos, but I think it’s time to stand up for a person I really love and this person is Blake Lively,” Morrone said.
The 365 Days star continued, “I personally met Blake during A Simple Favor 2. We shot this incredible film together and I felt something was wrong, and I felt the pain … We had the opportunity to talk, me and her, [and] Blake was in pain.” (A Simple Favor 2 was filmed this past spring, per Deadline, while It Ends With Us began filming in May 2023 and resumed in January following the SAG-AFTRA strike.)
Justin Baldoni appears to have nothing but positive things to say about his It Ends with Us costar, Blake Lively, as reports of an on set feud continue circulating online. The drama officially hit theaters in August 2024, and Baldoni, who both directed and starred opposite Lively, has heaped praise on his onscreen partner. “Blake […]
Morrone said he was “really tired” of seeing “cruel and bad comments” about Lively “without knowing the situation.” He linked to a New York Times article published Saturday, December 21, detailing Lively’s catalog of complaints against Baldoni, 40, on the set of It Ends With Us, which he asked fans to read “to make you understand, before commenting, what happened.”
“Blake, I love you so much. Keep it up and we’re going to see each other very soon. Love you,” the actor concluded.
Michele Morrone Courtesy of Michele Morrone/Instagram
Lively, 37, filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Complaints Department on Friday, December 20, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of their recent Colleen Hoover adaptation. She also claimed Baldoni was behind a digital smear campaign to tarnish her reputation.
The lawsuit, obtained by Us Weekly after it first reported by TMZ and The New York Times, stated that a meeting was held during the film’s production in January to address Lively’s claims against her costar that included, “No more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.”
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively Nicole Rivelli/Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Baldoni has vehemently denied the allegations against him. In a statement to Us, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman called Lively’s claims “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious,” alleging she filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” about the film’s production. He claimed Lively made “multiple demands and threats,” which included “threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”
Lively reprises her role in A Simple Favor 2, a sequel to her hit 2018 crime thriller costarring Anna Kendrick, which is due for release next year.
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Sony Pictures Blake Lively has received public support from her famous friends and other Hollywood stars following the news of her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. Lively sued It Ends With Us director and costar Baldoni for sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed on Friday, December 20. According to court documents, which […]
On Sunday, December 22, the film’s director, Paul Feig, also expressed his support for Lively.
“I’ve now made two movies with Blake and all I can say is she’s one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with,” Feig shared via X.
Feig added, “She truly did not deserve any of this smear campaign against her. I think it’s awful she was put through this.”
Lively has also received support from Hoover, the author of the novel It Ends With Us is based on, and Sony Pictures, the studio that released the film.