It Ends with Us author Colleen Hoover is supporting Blake Lively amid the actress’ sexual harassment allegations against the film adaption’s director and star Justin Baldoni.
In an Instagram Stories post on Saturday, Dec. 21 — the same day that Lively’s complaint against her costar Baldoni, 40, came to light — Hoover, 45, shared her support for the actress and linked to the The New York Times‘ reporting on the situation.
“@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” Hoover wrote alongside a photo of herself and Lively, 37, hugging at a screening of the film. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
Lively’s complaint, obtained by PEOPLE, alleges that Baldoni engaged in misconduct on the set of It Ends with Us that resulted in a meeting attended by producers to address Lively’s concerns about his behavior and that of the movie’s lead producer, Jamey Heath.
Following the meeting, the complaint alleges, Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, allegedly agreed to a number of stipulations, including “no more improvising of kissing” and “no more personal, physical touching of, or sexual comments by Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath to be tolerated by [Blake Lively] and/or any of her employees, as well as any female cast or crew without their express consent.”
Other requests included “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by [Lively] outside the scope of the script [Lively] approved when signing onto the project” — all of which Baldoni and the producers allegedly agreed to. However, Lively alleges in the complaint that Baldoni subsequently began a retaliatory smear campaign against her soon after.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman called Lively’s allegations “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt” in a statement to PEOPLE on Dec. 21.
Lively’s complaint includes as evidence private texts and emails that appear to demonstrate crisis PR representatives for Baldoni planning to “[plant] stories about [Lively’s] weaponization of feminism” as well as execute “full social account take downs,” by starting “threads of theories” and generally working to “change [the] narrative” around Lively’s accusations.
Lively alleges that “she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety” because of Baldoni’s alleged behavior.
According to the complaint, which is a precursor to filing a discrimination lawsuit in California, “the emotional impact on Ms. Lively has been extreme, not only affecting her, but her family, including her husband and four children.”
Lively has previously been candid about her friendship with Hoover. Earlier this month, the actress shared a post on Instagram celebrating the author’s birthday, including photos of the pair enjoying a snack together as a song from Wicked played in the background.
“Everyone who knows this woman is changed for it,” wrote Lively, who played Lily Bloom in this year’s big-screen adaptation of Hoover’s novel. “She’s calm and steady. Her integrity is her foundation. Her humor levels you outta nowhere. Her quiet fortitude is mighty. And she always chooses the kindest path.”
“She loves her fans. She loves her friends. She loves her community,” Lively added in part. “She loves her family. But mostly she loves Diet Pepsi. And oh boy do we love her.”
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Hoover was also complimentary of Lively’s work on the movie as both a star and producer, telling PEOPLE in August that she gave a “captivating, stunning and emotional” performance in the film.
“There aren’t enough words to describe her phenomenal talent,” Hoover said at the time. “Blake Lively truly brought Lily Bloom to life in a way that exceeded all my expectations. When I wrote Lily’s character, I thought I had a fairly solid image in mind but Blake’s portrayal added so much depth and complexity to the character that I didn’t even anticipate.”
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