Six former employees of the troubled lifestyle brand that Blake Lively launched in 2014 have come forward to express outrage over her allegations that she suffered inappropriate on-set behavior by director Justin Baldoni, given what they say was the “chaotic,” “toxic” and “unprofessional” situation they dealt with while working for her.
Lively’s company, Preserve, was meant to be her answer to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop or Martha Stewart’s lifestyle empire, selling high-priced clothing and home decor goods online, according to a new report in the Daily Mail. But Preserve crashed and burned within a year for reasons that were never fully explained — though Lively told Time that she blamed the “bullying” media for subjecting female entrepreneurs like her to scrutiny that male business leaders don’t face.
When it was launched, Preserve initially faced criticism for selling goods that were said to be inspired by “the allure” of the antebellum South, as Vox reported. At one point, the site’s newsletter published “pro-slavery propaganda” by praising pre-Civil War Southern ladies — or the wives of “slave owners,” as Jezebel said — for possessing “inherent social distinction” and setting “standards for style and appearance.” Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, also had faced backlash for getting married in 2012 on a Southern plantation with a history of slavery.
In the new Daily Mail report, the six former Preserve employees reveal “the shocking inside story” of Lively’s lifestyle brand, the implosion of which was accompanied by messy legal claims and workers allegedly forced to sign non-disclosure agreements.
“The entire company was an absolute disaster,” one employee told the Daily Mail. “The workplace allegations that Blake is making now (against Baldoni) are deeply ironic, given that (Preserve) was one of the most insane, toxic, emotionally draining and disorganized environments you could imagine.”
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 19: (L-R) Elaine Lively, Blake Lively and Eric Lively attend “The Age of Adaline” premiere at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 theater on April 19, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)Preserve actually was run by Lively’s brother Eric Lively, a handsome but not-so-successful former TV actor who had declared bankruptcy in 2009, according to the Daily Mail. And, his idea of an office was his Manhattan studio apartment, where the employees said they had to work long hours and sit on the floor for “months,” before he finally bought furniture.
Eric Lively also allegedly drank alcohol and smoked pot, possibly during work hours, though he sometimes overslept and left employees outside, the Daily Mail also reported. Eric Lively, moreover, had an affair with one of the employees, three former employees said.
As for the “Gossip Girl” star, she generally seemed disengaged from the day-to-day operations of Preserve and the “really toxic work environment” that her brother ran in her name, employees told the Daily Mail. Then again, Lively claimed to Time magazine in 2015 that she was heavily involved in guiding the launch of her start-up, “meeting chefs, meeting artisans, designers, craftsmen,” and getting advice from friends who are “successful entrepreneurs.”
“We have a team of amazing people coming to work and bleeding, sweating and crying every day, and loving it,” Lively told Time.
To the former employees who spoke to the Daily Mail, Lively wanted to be seen as being involved, especially when it came to photo shoots that would be used to promote her products. Employees recall being driven to Lively’s mansion in Westchester County, north of New York City, to do a photo shoot. But the actor and self-styled Met Gala fashion icon didn’t emerge from her home until two hours after the group arrived, and she looked “like an absolute mess,” an insider told the Daily Mail. “The whole idea was to show that she was ‘styling’ the shoots. All she was doing was adding accessories like bracelets for the pictures. That was her only input.”
The company’s downfall came after senior Preserve staff arranged a meeting with Lively in 2015 to air their concerns, according to the Daily Mail.
“(Blake) immediately shut it down and said she wouldn’t be entertaining anything about her brother,” one employee said. “The entire meeting was about Eric, and Blake just didn’t want to hear anything about it, so it went nowhere.”
Because Lively allegedly refused to hear employees’ complaints, some ended up threatening to file lawsuits, the Daily Mail reported. One employee reportedly received a settlement of up to $300,000 to stay quiet.
A decade later, Lively is mired in another legal fight after going to the New York Times in late 2024, then filing a bombshell lawsuit, alleging that Baldoni subjected her to sexually inappropriate behavior, while he directed her and co-starred with her in the 2024 film “It Ends With Us.” Lively’s lawsuit also alleges that Baldoni, along with his colleagues at his Wayfarer Studios production company and his publicists, launched a media campaign to smear her reputation during the release of “It Ends With Us.”
Baldoni has hit back with a counter-suit, denying the sexual misconduct allegations. He also alleged that Lively and Reynolds tried to seize creative control of “It Ends With Us” from him and targeted him for a media campaign that sought to destroy his reputation and career in Hollywood.
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