• Colleen Hoover has thrown her support behind Blake Lively after Lively filed a lawsuit against her costar Justin Baldoni.
• The "It Ends With Us" author said Lively had been "nothing but honest" since they first met.
• Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment. Baldoni's attorney said the claims were "categorically false."

Colleen Hoover, the bestselling author of "It Ends with Us," has thrown her support behind Blake Lively after Lively sued her costar, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment, retaliation, and coordinating attempts to damage her reputation.

In an Instagram Stories post, Hoover linked out to a New York Times report on the situation and wrote: "@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met."

"Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt," she added, possibly referencing Lively's character Lily Bloom's profession as a florist.

In the complaint, obtained by Business Insider, Lively said she had attended a meeting with Baldoni — who also directed the movie adaptation of Hoover's novel — and producer Jamey Heath during filming to address the "hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production of the Film."

The meeting is said to have resulted in all parties agreeing to a number of stipulations, including "no more showing nude videos or images of women, including the producer's wife," to Lively or her employees.

It also required "no more mention of Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath's previous 'pornography addiction' or BL's lack of pornography consumption to BL or to other crew members," the complaint said.

The suit goes on to accuse Baldoni and his team of running a smear campaign against Lively.

Lively faced backlash during the film's promotional tour, with many social media users criticizing her lighthearted marketing approach. Baldoni, on the other hand, received praise for highlighting the serious topics raised in the movie.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios, said in a statement that the claims made in the complaint were "categorically false" and "intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."

"It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation, which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; 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," the statement said.

Reports in Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter said Baldoni has been dropped by his agency, WME, following Lively's complaint.

Business Insider has contacted Freedman and Wayfarer Studios for comment.

• Blake Lively has sued her 'It Ends with Us' costar, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment.
• Lively said Baldoni, who also directed the film, tried to damage her reputation.
• Baldoni's attorney told BI that Lively sued him to "fix her negative reputation."

Blake Lively is suing her "It Ends with Us" costar, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment, retaliation, and coordinating attempts to damage her reputation.

The hype around "It Ends with Us" was intense ahead of the film's August release, but much of the attention focused on the working relationship between its stars, Lively and Baldoni.

Lively played Lily Bloom, and Baldoni played Ryle Kincaid. Baldoni also directed the film, and his company, Wayfarer Studios, produced it.

Lively said in the legal complaint, obtained by Business Insider, that she attended an "all hands" meeting with Baldoni and "It Ends with Us" producer Jamey Heath during filming to address the "hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production of the Film." Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, also attended the meeting.

"Ms. Lively was forced to address concerns about Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath's misconduct with them directly, and began doing so months before filming began," according to Lively's complanit. "The concerns she raised were not only for herself, but for the other female cast and crew, some of whom had also spoken up."

The meeting ended with all parties agreeing to a code of conduct for on-set behavior, including "no more showing nude videos or images of women, including the producer's wife," to Lively or her employees. The agreement also required "no more mention of Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath's previous 'pornography addiction' or BL's lack of pornography consumption to BL or to other crew members."

Lively says in the complaint that another issue arose between her and Baldoni after filming due to differing marketing strategies. Lively adhered to a "marketing plan" that focused on her character's "strength and resilience as opposed to describing the film as a story about domestic violence."

Baldoni, however, "abruptly" switched marketing strategies before the film and focused on the domestic violence aspect, according to the complaint.

During the film's press tour, social media users criticized Lively's lighthearted marketing approach, which led to a wave of backlash. In contrast, fans sided with Baldoni's approach and he emerged relatively unscathed by the fallout.

Lively said in the complaint that Baldoni and his team engaged in "social manipulation" to "destroy" her reputation through a "sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation for Ms. Lively exercising her legally protected right to speak up about their misconduct on the set, with the additional objective of intimidating her and anyone else from revealing in public what actually occurred."

The complaint included a series of text messages, including some between Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan. Abel is a publicist who worked with Baldoni. Nathan is a crisis communications specialist for The Agency Group PR LLC, which Baldoni retained in early August.

In one message shared with Business Insider by a representative for Lively, Abel wrote to Nathan that Baldoni "wants to feel like she can be buried," referring to Lively.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, said in a statement that claims made in Lively's complaint were "categorically false."

"It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation, which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; 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," the statement said.

The statement added: "These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."

Freedman's statement said Wayfarer Studios decided to hire Nathan before the film's marketing campaign "due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met."

A representative for Lively referred BI to a statement shared with The New York Times on Saturday.

"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," the statement said.

She also told the outlet that neither she nor her representatives ever spread negative stories about Baldoni or Wayfarer Studios.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.