Blake Lively’s brother-in-law Bart Johnson backs her amid Justin Baldoni lawsuit: 'She’s my hero'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Blake Lively’s brother-in-law Bart Johnson has voiced his support for her after she sued her 'It Ends With Us' co-star and director Justin Baldoni.

Johnson, who is married to Blake's sister Robyn Lively, took to the comments section of an Instagram post by the New York Times that had two slides of Lively and Baldoni along with a long caption, a part of which read, "Within days of the film’s release, Lively experienced the biggest reputational hit of her career. She was branded tone-deaf, difficult to work with, a bully. Sales of her new hair-care line plummeted. Baldoni, by contrast, emerged largely unscathed." 

Bart Johnson voices support for sister-in-law Blake Lively

Bart Johnson commented on the post, "Her complaints were filed during the filming. On record. Long before the public conflict. The cast unfollowed him for a reason. Read this article before spiting ignorance."

He continued, "His PR team was stellar. Gross and disgusting but highly effective. Read the article, their text message exchanges and his PR campaign strategy to bury her by any means necessary. No one is with out faults. But the public got played."

Moreover, Johnson claimed that "of course mistakes were made" and pointed to her responsibilities, including being a mother of four to her and husband Ryan Reynolds' children, according to US Weekly.

Johnson wrote, "But just IMAGINE being a stay at home mom raising 4 kids, married to the busiest man in Hollywood and at the same time being a girl boss running multiple companies while writing, producing, running non profits and working 16+ hour days from home so you can be with your kids."

He added, "Launching 2 new businesses you been working on / developing for many years (launch scheduled by distributors, not you, btw) all while getting attacked by a VERY expensive PR smear campaign because you filed a sexual harassment claim for the very film you have to go out and promote with just the right tone or you get cooked!?"

In a different comment, he clarified what he meant by a "girl boss" and explained that the term "means a woman that is kicking a** as an entrepreneur and/or business owner in what has been previously dominated by men, and showing they are every bit as capable and qualified if not more so in that space. She’s my hero as is any woman charging it like this. You’re free to define it as you wish, but that’s on you." 

Blake Lively's sister Robyn shows support for her

Apart from Johnson, his wife and Blake's sister Robyn Lively also supported her via social media on Saturday, December 21. 

Robyn wrote on her Instagram Story, sharing screenshots of a New York Times article about Blake’s lawsuit, "FINALLY justice for my sister @blakelively."

She also made a post on Instagram along with the screenshot of a New York Times article and captioned it, "I urge everyone to read The NY Times article in its entirety. It calls out those behind the ruthless and nefarious smear campaign that aimed to take down my sister. It also highlights the truth and what really happened, what she actually endured during the filming of It Ends With Us."

Notably, this is not the first time Johnson has voiced his support for Blake. He had earlier come to her defense after fans speculated that there was tension between the 'It Ends With Us' costars when she was seen promoting the film with some of her costars and Baldoni didn’t join for interviews or press opportunities, per the outlet. 

Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni

The lawsuit by Blake Lively, which focuses on alleged misconduct by Justin Baldoni during the filming of 'It Ends with Us', has brought tensions between both stars into the spotlight.

The lawsuit follows months of speculation of some behind-the-scenes drama between Lively and Baldoni on 'It Ends with Us'. The 'Gossip Girl' star accused Baldoni of fostering a toxic workplace during the production of their movie.

TMZ reported that Lively claimed the situation became so hostile that an all-hands-on-deck meeting was held. Ryan Reynolds also attended the meeting along with others to address the concerns. The lawsuit detailed allegations that Baldoni made inappropriate remarks, including comments about Lively's weight and late father.

She also claimed that he made disparaging comments about the cast and crew, besides other serious allegations.

Meanwhile, Lively had reportedly requested in the meeting that there be "no more adding" of explicit scenes "beyond the scope of what was approved in the original script when she signed on to the project," according to the court filings.