Blake Lively’s Justin Baldoni-related PR crisis may be getting worse as a crew member on her 2018 film, “A Simple Favor,” has accused her of being “cruel to many” during that film’s production and bringing the woman to tears “many times.”
Barbara Szeman, who worked as an assistant director on the 2018 film, according to IMDb, appeared to call out Lively in a series of since-deleted comments on Instagram, Page Six reported. Szeman’s initial comments were shared on Henry Golding’s recent Instagram post, promoting the movie’s sequel, “Another Simple Favor,” in which he stars and which is set to be released soon.
“I worked with you on the first one,” Szeman told the actor, who played Lively’s beleaguered husband in the 2018 black-comedy/mystery, which also co-starred Anna Kendrick. “My experience with everyone was absolutely amazing, except for a certain someone who is the reason I quit being an AD.”
“Guess who that person is…,” Szeman cryptically added, without directly naming Lively, Page Six said. Szeman concluded her message by saying, “I wish you all the best with this though!”
The initial comment garnered a lot of attention, Page Six reported. Szeman expressed discomfort with the attention but said she ultimately spoke out because she said that the unnamed person — clearly a reference to Lively — didn’t treat crew members well.
“I will say she was cruel to many,” Szeman said. “I know I cried my way home many nights because you try so hard to please someone who is never pleased and puts you down constantly.”
Someone who appeared to be a friend of Szeman’s expressed shock to hear that Lively wasn’t easy to work with, according to Page Six. “I didn’t know this!!! I had heard from people that she was so nice and lovely to work with — apparently not.” Her comment prompted Szeman to respond, “Maybe for them. Not for me lol.”
Szeman then reportedly referred to Lively’s sordid, high-profile legal battle with Baldoni, her director and co-star for the 2024 drama, “It Ends With Us.” “I can’t believe it’s actually getting back at her. Karma is real,” Szeman wrote, according to Page Six.
Szeman’s comments come as the “Gossip Girl” star is struggling to gain the upper hand in her legal and public relations battle against Baldoni. She also needs attention to be focused on her new film, “Another Simple Favor,” which opens the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, on March 7 before it streams on Amazon Prime Video May 1.
Unfortunately for Lively and her co-stars, fans have left comments on social media posts for the new movie, mostly critical of Lively and her actions against Baldoni. For example on Golding’s Instagram post, in which he shared a poster for “Another Simple Favor,” someone wrote: “Sorry buddy. It’s not your fault that Blake is in this but I’m going to have to help this one tank. We all want her to never be in another movie and to never attempt to sell us anything again.”
Someone else wrote, “This is going to tank. Which is a shame because Anna Kendrick and Henry Golding are actually decent actors.”
Lively has recently found herself on the defensive and is said to be “losing” her PR war against Baldoni. She initially had the upper hand right after she made pretty damaging allegations against him in December. She accused him in a lawsuit and in a viral New York Times story of being sexually inappropriate during the production of “It Ends With Us,” a drama about domestic violence in which she and Baldoni played lovers. She also accused Baldoni of working with his publicists to orchestrate a digital media campaign to hurt her reputation after the film’s release in August.
Baldoni vehemently denied harassing Lively or conspiring to wage a “smear campaign” against her. He’s hit back at her allegations with a $400 million lawsuit, accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of seizing control of the movie’s production and its final edit. Baldoni also accused Lively, Reynolds and the New York Times of defamation, saying they used “cherry-picked” private text messages between him and Lively and between him and his publicists to build a false narrative of him being “a predator” out to destroy her reputation.
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has amplified his client’s case by publishing what he says are the full content of the private text messages exchanged among the different parties. Freedman argues that the evidence he has produced show that his client is the true injured party in the dispute.
Freedman previously told Page Six that Lively damaged her own reputation while promoting “It Ends With Us,” by downplaying its serious domestic violence subject matter and presenting it as fun girls’ night out at the movies and as an opportunity to hawk her own beauty products. Freedman said that Lively garnered “negative” publicity with her own remarks and actions, including “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.”
Meanwhile, legal experts on TMZ said that Lively may no choice but to settle with Baldoni, and on Baldoni’s terms. Taking the case to trial means that Lively, Reynolds and even her famous friend, Taylor Swift, would have to sit for harsh grilling in depositions and during cross-examination — something that image-conscious celebrities usually want to avoid.
