It Ends With Us actor Brandon Sklenar chose holiday cheer as Blake Lively‘s lawsuit against their costar and director Justin Baldoni made headlines.
Sklenar, 34, was spotted getting festive with Miles Teller and his wife, Keleigh Teller, along with Chace Crawford and more friends. “Annual white elephant x @drinkolipop 🐘 🎄,” Keleigh, 32, captioned an Instagram photo dump on Sunday, December 22.
She shared a glimpse of holiday decor — including stockings and a dazzling Christmas tree — and included a group shot of the guests. Sklenar could be seen in the back corner as partygoers showed off their gifts.
Sklenar starred alongside Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 40, in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s popular novel, which hit theaters this summer. As the cast promoted the movie’s release, fans began to wonder whether there was tension between Lively — who also served as a producer — and Baldoni. Despite playing love interests on screen, the pair weren’t seen doing press together or posing with each other on red carpets.
“There were two camps on the film — team Blake and team Justin,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in August. “This creative struggle set the tone for the negative experience behind the scenes and grew into them not speaking anymore.”
While rumors swirled of drama between the two leads, Lively also faced backlash for seemingly downplaying the movie’s domestic violence plot line as she did press. (Her character, Lily, escapes an abusive relationship with Ryle, played by Baldoni, with help from her old flame Atlas, played by Sklenar. She eventually shared domestic violence resources online.)
Sklenar addressed the controversy in a lengthy Instagram statement shared in August, appearing to come to Lively’s defense. “Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves. 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,” he wrote at the time. “It is, in fact, the opposite of the point.”
He 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 insisted 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,” adding, “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.”
Months after It Ends With Us hit theaters, the drama resurfaced. News broke on Saturday, December 21, that Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and “severe emotional distress.”
According to Lively’s complaint, a meeting was held during the film’s production to address some of her concerns regarding a “hostile work environment” on set. She requested that there be “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,” as well as “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project.”
Lively further claimed that Baldoni orchestrated a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation. Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, denied the “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” accusations in a statement to Us, claiming Lively filed her complaint in order to “fix her negative reputation.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Lively said neither she nor anyone on her team spread negative information about Baldoni. “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,” she continued.
Baldoni was reportedly dropped by WME after Lively’s lawsuit made headlines. Sklenar has not addressed the legal drama, but Hoover supported Lively via social media on Saturday.
“Blake Lively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” she wrote. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”
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