No one thought Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni‘s It Ends With Us drama would have resulted in a tumultuous legal battle.
The pair starred in the Colleen Hoover adaptation which premiered on August 8, 2024. Ahead of its release, Lively and Baldoni promoted the film separately. Fans theorized that there was a rift between the actors after noticing that Lively was not following Baldoni on Instagram, nor was anyone else in the It Ends With Us cast.
Despite rumored tension between Lively and Baldoni, who play Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid, respectively, Baldoni sang Lively’s praises throughout his press tour. He also pitched for Lively to direct the possible sequel, which would be based on Hoover’s It Starts With Us novel.
Four months after the movie’s release, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni accusing her costar and director of sexual harassment and “severe emotional distress.” Baldoni vehemently denied the allegations and subsequently countersued Lively.
Lively and Baldoni went back and forth in their respective lawsuits. In June, Baldoni’s lawsuit was dismissed by the judge. Lively’s case is still ongoing and scheduled for trial in March 2026.
Keep scrolling for a full breakdown on Lively and Baldoni’s It Ends With Us drama:
How Did Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s Feud Begin?
Before the legal filings, fans noticed a difference between Lively and Baldoni’s approach to the It Ends With Us press tour in August 2024. Lively actively promoted the film with costars Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar, Isabela Ferrer and Alex Neustaedter while Baldoni went solo. Lively also drew criticism for a promotional video where she told fans to “grab your friends” and “wear your florals” to go see the movie which centers around domestic violence.
Lively also shared that her husband, Ryan Reynolds, wrote part of the rooftop scene in the film. She noted at the time that she and Reynolds often enlist each other to help with various projects. Reynolds also helped promote the movie by doing an interview with Sklenar.
Amid the public’s speculation of drama with Lively, Baldoni hired a crisis PR manager.
When Did Blake Lively’s Lawsuit Come Into Play?
In December 2024, Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and “severe emotional distress.” The lawsuit, which was initially obtained by the New York Times, alleged there was a meeting conducted to address Lively’s claims of a “hostile work environment” on set. The meeting addressed some of Lively’s concerns and requests of “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.”
The actress also claimed that Baldoni conducted a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement to Luxury Handbag Shopping that the allegations are “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.”
How Did Justin Baldoni React to the Lawsuit?
Baldoni ended up filing a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times following its reporting Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit. A New York Times spokesperson told Us it is standing by its story and plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” the statement read. “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article. Those texts and emails were also the crux of a discrimination claim filed in California by Blake Lively against Justin Baldoni and his associates.”
The statement continued, “To address some inaccuracies in the lawsuit, when seeking comments from Mr. Baldoni and others who would be mentioned in the article, The Times shared the information that we intended to publish, including references to specific text messages and documents, asked them to identify any inaccuracies, provide additional context and speak with our team. Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer and the other subjects chose not to have any conversations with The Times or address any of the specific text messages or documents and instead emailed a joint response, which was published in full. (Also, they sent their response to The Times at 11:16 p.m. ET Dec 20th, not at 2:16 a.m. ET Dec 21st as the complaint says.)”
In addition to taking legal action against The New York Times, Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist, Leslie Sloane. He accused the group of extortion and defamation.
In the 179-page filing obtained by Us, Baldoni claimed that Lively was “determined” to make him a “real-life villain in her story.” He further alleged that Lively wanted to take attention off her “tone-deaf” promotion of the movie after receiving public backlash.
“The suggestion that Wayfarer caused the online backlash against her is absurd given the evidence of her own insensitivity,” the suit alleged, in part. Baldoni also claimed that Lively made sure that he was “excluded” from any promotional efforts for the movie.
Baldoni alleged that their public feud started in May 2023, claiming that Lively issued a “takeover strategy” for creative control of the film. Baldoni also claimed that Lively did not read the novel the movie was based on “even well into production.”
Lively and Reynolds denied the allegations while Sloane petitioned the court to be removed from the lawsuit.
What Happened After the Lawsuits Were Filed?
Baldoni and Lively have continued to go back and forth in court. In January 2025, Baldoni released never-before-seen footage from It Ends With Us, alleging that Lively’s claims of sexual harassment were unfounded. Lively’s lawyers responded to the video saying that the footage did substantiate her claims of feeling uncomfortable.
“Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognise Ms Lively’s discomfort,” they said.
The following month, Baldoni and his team published a website which included details about his lawsuits and alleged text message exchanges between him and Lively.
Are the Lawsuits Still Ongoing?
Lively and Reynolds filed motions to dismiss Baldoni’s lawsuit in March. Three months later Judge Lewis J. Liman, granted the couple’s motion to dismiss. Sloane was also dismissed from the legal battle.
“Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement to Us. “As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
In that same ruling, the judge also tossed out Baldoni’s $250 million libel complaint against The New York Times.
Baldoni was given the chance by the judge to revise his lawsuit against Lively but decided against it.
“The Court’s decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign, and it does not in any way affect our vigorous defense against Ms. Lively’s claims,” Freedman said in a June 2025 statement. “Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations. Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us.”
Lively’s lawsuit is still ongoing and scheduled for trial next year.
How Have Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Prepared for Trial?
Lively took a deposition conducted by Baldoni’s legal team in July 2025. Us reported at the time that Baldoni was in the room for the legal meeting.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of her deposition, and now look forward to deposing Justin Baldoni and each of the codefendants in short order,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement to Us following the deposition. “Deposition testimony is confidential for good reason – it’s evidence in a legal proceeding and is subject to objections and evidentiary rules. Juries aren’t just handed deposition transcripts to read at home, and instead they listen to testimony that is presented at trial under a judge’s supervision.”
In August 2025, the judge ruled in favor of Lively’s request to not allow Baldoni’s team to use the transcript in court until it has been finalized.
If you or someone you know are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
