Movies

Blake Lively's family is coming to her defense days after she sued her "It Ends With Us" costar/director Justin Baldoni in which she alleged a smear campaign was conducted against her after she accused him of sexual harassment during filming.

Bart Johnson, Blake's brother-in-law, took to the comment section of a post on The New York Times’ Instagram on Saturday saying Justin's PR team was "gross and disgusting but highly effective" in their media strategy to allegedly smear Blake's image after she complained of sexual harassment from Baldoni during filming.

Bart added in his comment, "Read the article, their text message exchanges and his PR campaign strategy to bury her by any means necessary. No one is with out [sic] faults. But the public got played."

Blake Lively is receiving support from some of her oldest costars and friends ... America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel have issued a statement amid her "It Ends With Us" lawsuit.

The 3 actresses -- all of whom starred in the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" film franchise with Blake in the '00s and have remained her good friends -- issued a joint statement on Instagram ... where they made it clear they were standing behind BL amid her legal battle.

They wrote ... "Throughout the filming of 'It Ends with Us,' we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice."

Art Evans, an actor best known for his roles in "Die Hard 2" and "Fright Night," has died ... according to his reps.

The film and TV actor died while surrounded by his loved ones on Saturday, his publicist, Erica Huntzinger, confirmed to Variety. While the outlet did not share a cause of death, Deadline reports the actor's rep shared Art passed away due to a battle with diabetes.

Fans will likely best know Art for his work as Barnes in the 1990 follow-up film to "Die Hard," aptly titled "Die Hard 2." Remember, Art's character assists Bruce Willis' John McClane when all hell breaks loose at Dulles International Airport.

Denzel Washington has taken a big step in cementing his faith ... the Oscar winner has recently been baptized and received his minister's license.

Check it out ... the Hollywood star was baptized at the Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ in New York City on Saturday. Dressed in a white robe and burgundy stole adorned with crosses, DW kept his head low as spiritual leaders dunked him into the baptismal water.

Alongside his certificate of baptism, the actor also received his ministry license, which would seemingly designate Denzel with the ability to perform ministerial duties.

Hidden inside this bedazzled winter star is a gorgeous gal who's been singing and dancing since she was just a wee lass ... It's time to get in formation and see if you've got what it takes to nail the unknown celeb!

She rose to mega fame with a group of ladies in the early 2000s. And, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide, she's collaborated with music's hottest stars like Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga.

The sequel to one of her movies dropped earlier this weekend.

Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni also names several public relations professionals ... and, text messages included in the suit allegedly show the lengths to which they went to turn the public against her.

We broke the story ... Lively is suing Baldoni for sexual harassment and what she claims is a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation. In the lawsuit, Blake's attorneys include text messages they recovered via subpoena -- messages they say were sent between Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, two PR pros.

The New York Times published photos of the messages Nathan and Abel allegedly sent to one another ... including one in which they're apparently gloating over their comprehensive takedown of Lively.

10:21 AM PT -- In a statement to TMZ, Blake Lively says ...  "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.”

Blake Lively has declared legal war on her former "It Ends with Us" costar/director Justin Baldoni, laying out her allegations of sexual harassment and what she claims is a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation, but Baldoni's team has fired back calling the allegations a false attempt to rehab her reputation.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, things got so bad during filming, there was an all-hands-on-deck meeting to address what she claims was a hostile work environment. Ryan Reynolds, Blake's husband, was among the attendees.

The lawsuit lists the demands that were addressed ... she says because of Baldoni's conduct. Among those demands -- no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni's alleged previous "pornography addiction," no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew's genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake's weight, and no further mention of Blake's dead father.

Justin Baldoni's agency William Morris Endeavor has severed ties with the embattled actor ... this just hours after Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against him.

Sources with direct knowledge confirmed the news to TMZ after multiple reports surfaced.

While no official reason was provided, it comes after his former costar Lively filed a suit alleging sexual harassment and a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation.

Michael B. Jordan is the latest Celebrity to have an unwanted guest show up at his Los Angeles-area home.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Wednesday afternoon, while Jordan was home, a suspect was seen in his front yard.

Jordan’s security called the LAPD and then escorted the suspect off the property and waited for the cops.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Robert Downey Jr. walk into a restaurant ... there's no punch line here -- 'cause it really happened Thursday night!

The three Oscar winners all hit up Giorgio Baldi -- a fancy Italian spot in Santa Monica ... with the Roberts enjoying a night out with their significant others and Leo rolling in solo.

All three men dressed casually ... nice jackets and T-shirts -- nobody went full suit. De Niro and Downey were easily identifiable, not covering up at all -- while Leo wore his usual hat and mask to avoid giving photogs a shot of his face.

Robert Vito will not face criminal charges after his arrest last month ... though he will speak to the city attorney about alternative conflict resolution in the future.

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office tells TMZ ... Vito has an upcoming hearing with the city attorney where they’ll talk to him and go over ways to avoid situations like this in the future.

After that, the case will be put on ice ... and, as long as he doesn't get in trouble in the next year, he won't ever face charges because of it.

The star of "Mufasa: The Lion King" says he didn't know who most of his other costars were until earlier this year ... though he always figured the script would attract massive stars.

Braelyn Rankins -- voice of young Mufasa in the upcoming Disney "The Lion King" prequel -- was on "TMZ Live" for an interview Thursday ... and, he tells us he only knew limited information about the movie when he was filming his part.

Rankins tells us that -- outside of the actors he personally worked with -- he had no idea who would be in the film ... so no indication he would star alongside Beyoncé, her daughter Blue Ivy, Thandiwe Newton or the like.

Ethan Slater's ex-wife's diving into the end of her marriage ... not by taking shots at Ethan or Ariana Grande -- but instead, by apologizing to her therapy patients for no longer living an anonymous life.

Lilly Jay -- a clinical psychologist, and high school sweetheart of Broadway star Slater -- wrote an essay, published on The Cut Thursday, all about the public nature of her split.

In the essay, Lilly's lamenting she's now a spectacle in the public eye despite being in a profession where patients are better helped by not acknowledging their therapist's personal life.

The first trailer for James Gunn's "Superman" finally arrived ... and it does not disappoint.

Packed with action, Clark Kent and some Lois Lane lovin', plus a ton of action -- fans were immediately freaking out with joy.

David Corenswet dons the red cape this time ... and from the way the trailer opens with a bloodied and beaten Superman -- seems he has his work cut out for him.

American actor De'voreaux White was in his early 20s when he played Argyle -- the jolly and chatty limousine driver transporting John McClane -- in the action/thriller Christmas film "Die Hard" back in 1988.

De'voreaux shared the big screen with Bruce Willis as the NYPD detective heading to his estranged wife's holiday party, John McClane, Bonnie Bedelia as John's wife and high-ranking executive, Holly Gennaro-McClane, and Alan Rickman as the cruel terrorist who breaks into the Nakatomi Plaza in attempt to steal $640 million in bonds.

Argyle was also in "The Jeffersons," "Little House on the Prairie" and "Places in the Heart."

Timothée Chalamet had a very special surprise guest at a screening for his new Bob Dylan movie ... and it was Tom Cruise!!!

The legendary actor dropped in on Timothée over in the United Kingdom for Tuesday's debut of Chalamet's new movie, "A Complete Unknown," at the Ham Yard Hotel in London, England

Tom and Tim shook hands and posed for some photos together ... in one shot of just the two of them, Tom is pointing at Tim and has one hand over his shoulder.