Blake Lively Sues It Ends with Us Costar Justin Baldoni for Sexual Harassment, Claims He Caused Her Severe Emotional Distress

After Lively alleged a targeted smear campaign following sexual harassment on set, a lawyer for Baldoni, who directed the film, called the allegations “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt”

Blake Lively is suing her It Ends with Us costar Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment, followed by a retaliatory public smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation.

Months after rumors of behind-the-scenes discord on the set of the adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel, the actress, 37, said in the lawsuit, obtained by PEOPLE, that following Baldoni’s alleged behavior, “behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.”

(Baldoni, 40, also served as It Ends with Us’ director.) TMZ was first to report the lawsuit.

The complaint, which is a precursor to filing a discrimination lawsuit in California, states there was a meeting held to address Baldoni’s alleged actions and “the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production.”

It was attended by various figures, including Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds.

Some of the demands that were addressed included safeguards such as a full-time intimacy coordinator, “no more showing nude videos or images of women … to [Lively] and/or her employees,” “no more mention of [Baldoni’s] previous

‘pornography addiction,'”… “no more discussions to [Lively]…about personal experiences with sex,” “no more inquiries by [Baldoni] to [Lively’s] trainer without her knowledge or consent to disclose her weight,” and “no more mention by [Baldoni] of him ‘speaking to’ [Lively’s] dead father.”

“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,” were other requests the complaint alleges that Baldoni and the other filmmakers agreed to.

The complaint states that Sony Pictures, who distributed the film, and Wayfarer Studios, of which Baldoni is co-chairman and co-founder, approved of Lively’s requests.

However, Lively claims in the filing that Baldoni then took part in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation soon after.

In Lively’s complaint, which includes texts obtained through subpoena, and summarized in a report released on Dec. 21 by The New York Times, the steps allegedly enacted by Baldoni to orchestrate a smear campaign are laid out.

Texts included in the complaint include messages from Baldoni’s crisis PR representative floating proposals to hire contractors to dominate social media through “full social account take downs,” by starting “threads of theories” and generally working to “change narrative.”

In a statement given to the Times, Lively said, “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.”

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, tells PEOPLE in a statement that Lively’s complaint was to “fix her negative reputation.”

He also said that her allegations are “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt.”

Freedman also alleged that Lively caused problems on set of the film, which is currently streaming, “threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release.”

Representatives for Lively, Baldoni and Sony did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

According to Lively’s complaint, “the emotional impact on Ms. Lively has been extreme, not only affecting her, but her family, including her husband and four children.”

It Ends with Us follows Lily, played by Lively, a woman who moves to a new city, where she meets and falls in love with a man named Ryle, portrayed by Baldoni, who becomes abusive. Then, her first love reappears, and her world changes.

Reports of Baldoni’s alleged behavior surfaced earlier this year, when The Daily Mail published a report alleging Baldoni was “chauvinistic” and “borderline abusive” on the set of It Ends with Us.

The same day, Page Six reported Baldoni created an “extremely difficult” atmosphere behind the scenes for the entire cast.

Rumors of a rift between Lively and Baldoni then sparked as the cast embarked on the official press tour for the movie.

Baldoni did most of his press solo and did not pose for pictures alongside the cast at the film’s New York premiere.

Fans were also quick to spot that Lively, Hoover and Jenny Slate do not follow Baldoni back on Instagram.

Costar Brandon Sklenar defended the women behind the film in an Aug. 20 Instagram post, writing, “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. It is, in fact, the opposite of the point.”