Justin Baldoni and his publicists sued Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and their publicist Leslie Sloane on Thursday, January 16. Blake, Ryan and Leslie Sloane are being sued for $400 million. The whole situation has become radioactive, and yet Baldoni’s countersuit is also a gossip goldmine. As people are reading through the lawsuit, several pieces of information have already jumped out.

Blake probably didn’t read Colleen Hoover’s book? According to the lawsuit, Lively made “wrongheaded creative decisions” that “reflected her fundamental lack of understanding of the book the film was based on…This came as no surprise to her worried colleagues, given that, even well into production, Lively had not even read the book,” the lawsuit alleged of the actress, 37. A text message from Baldoni to Heath that’s included in the lawsuit says that the creative team read and re-read Hoover’s novel, and afterward “combined scenes to heighten the stakes for” Baldoni’s character Ryle Kincaid “in pursuit of” Lively’s character Lily Bloom, “utilizing humor and his desire to sleep with her.” “While I understand Blake’s reasons for not wanting to read the book, the book does a very good job in getting in Lily’s mind during her interactions with Ryle and setting up the WHY behind her attraction to him, which ultimately helps us understand why she stays in the end,” the text message included in the lawsuit reads. She even tried to “Google” the color of her character’s hair rather than pick up the book, court documents allege.

The “it smells so good” conversation: Baldoni recalled filming a scene with Lively where she apologized for the smell of her spray tan and body makeup. Baldoni responded, “It smells good,” and continued acting. (In Lively’s paperwork filed last month, she told a different story about Baldoni’s remark, claiming: “At one point, he leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good.’ None of this was remotely in character, or based on any dialogue in the script, and nothing needed to be said because, again, there was no sound.”)

Blake told Baldoni that he needed a nose job: Baldoni alleged in his latest filing that Lively soon “began to joke about Baldoni’s nose, which he laughed off and joked in turn, even as Lively joked that he should get plastic surgery.” “While on the one hand, Lively accuses Baldoni of making comments about her appearance, on the other she made derogatory comments about Baldoni’s appearance, telling him he should undergo rhinoplasty (a nose job) – something Baldoni has publicly expressed insecurities about and has discussed on an episode of his podcast, ‘Man Enough,’ exploring the topic of body dysmorphia,” court documents stated. “Lively’s comment about Baldoni’s nose is also captured on camera. Baldoni, rather than write down a list of grievances against Lively, brushed it off and moved on with the scene.”

Blake refused to meet with reps from a domestic violence charity: Wayfarer decided that one percent of the film’s proceeds would be donated in support of survivors of domestic abuse. No More, an organization dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence by increasing awareness, inspiring action, and fueling culture change, would be chosen as the recipient. Baldoni’s team alleged in court documents that Lively “refused the opportunity to meet with No More, despite playing the lead role in a movie centered on themes of survival and resilience in the face of domestic abuse.” He also claimed Lively was irresponsible with her promotion of the film, pointing out that her alcohol line, Betty Booze, was involved in some of the marketing, which he found problematic as domestic violence statistics link alcohol and abuse. Unbelievably, Lively made this harmful and irresponsible message worse by naming a drink at her premiere afterparty ‘Ryle You Wait,’” he wrote in the docs.

Blake thought Lily Bloom was rich: Lively allegedly ignored the director’s vision for her character when picking out her looks for the movie. “At one point, Lively insisted that her character ‘had money’ and could afford $5,000 shoes—despite being a fledgling small business owner,” court documents alleged. According to the lawsuit, Lively also often refused to participate in wardrobe fittings at a production office 15 minutes from her home. Instead, “she insisted that the costume department pack up wardrobe and deliver it to her personal residence,” which took time and money.

[From Us Weekly]

So, I watched It Ends With Us before all of the lawsuits started, and the money stuff was driving me crazy. The film couldn’t decide if Lily Bloom was rich or poor or wore designer clothes or thrift store finds or how she had the money to start a flower shop. I couldn’t even tell how old Lily Bloom was supposed to be – there were so many moments where I thought Blake was (unconvincingly) playing Lily as a woman in her early 20s. The fact that Blake just f–king refused to read the book is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard in my g–damn life though. It makes a lot of sense, having seen the movie – Blake was apparently doing all of these bizarre rewrites and Googling her character’s bio rather than just spending a day reading the book. No wonder her promotion was “wear your florals and buy my booze” as well. I’m also screaming at the “Ryle You Wait” cocktail.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.