Blake Lively, Brandon Sklenar. Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Sony Pictures
Brandon Sklenar has publicly supported It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively amid her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
Sklenar, 34, reposted the New York Times article that broke the news of Lively’s allegations against Baldoni, 40, via his Instagram Story on Monday, December 23.
He titled the link to the story, “For the Love of God Read This.” The actor, who starred in It Ends With Us alongside Lively, 37, and Baldoni, tagged the actress in the post alongside a single red heart emoji.
News broke on Saturday, December 21, that Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni accusing him of sexual harassment and of launching a “social manipulation” campaign against her to “destroy” her reputation.
Brandon Sklenar wants to put the It Ends With Us drama behind him. The 34-year-old actor, who played Atlas Corrigan in the film adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel, is shedding light on his decision to speak out amid fan backlash to the movie’s press rollout and reported behind-the-scenes drama. “I put that [statement] out […]
Baldoni has denied the allegations via his attorney, Bryan Freedman, who called Lively’s accusations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” in a statement to Us Weekly. Since the lawsuit has made headlines, Baldoni has suffered from major fallout including being dropped from his talent agency.
Sklenar’s support comes one day after he celebrated the holidays with friends Miles Teller and his wife, Keleigh Teller, Chace Crawford and more. Keleigh, who is friends with Lively and Taylor Swift, shared a series of snaps from the festivities.
Lively and Sklenar formed a friendship while working on It Ends With Us. In the film, Lively’s character, Lily, escapes an abusive relationship with Ryle, played by Baldoni, with help from her old flame Atlas, portrayed by Sklenar. While promoting the movie over the summer, Sklenar was present with Lively during press to promote the film, while Baldoni conducted his interviews solo. When Lively was under fire for seemingly downplaying the movie’s domestic violence plot line during press, Sklenar was the first of Lively’s It Ends With Us costars to come to her defense. (Lively later shared domestic violence resources via her social media page.)
“Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves,” he wrote via a lengthy August Instagram statement. “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.”
Sklenar continued: “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. It’s been disheartening to see the amount of negativity being projected online.”
Sklenar shared that “there isn’t a single person involved in the making of this film” that wasn’t “aware of the responsibility we had in making this,” and added, “This movie is a harsh reality check for the men who need to get their s— together and take responsibility for themselves and their actions.”