Justin Baldoni, the director and actor of “It Ends With Us,” filed a lawsuit against his co-star Blake Lively on Thursday, escalating the ongoing legal dispute that originated in December. Baldoni, along with his Wayfarer Studios, “It Ends With Us” LLC, producer Jamey Heath, and PR professionals Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, lodged a 179-page complaint in a U.S. district court in New York on January 16. The complaint accuses Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, her PR representative Leslie Sloane, and Sloane’s business of defamation and other contractual breaches.
In the complaint, Baldoni’s attorneys expressed disappointment that a film that was intended to honor domestic violence survivors by sharing their stories and making a positive impact has been overshadowed due to Lively’s alleged actions and mistreatment.
Lively’s legal team responded by labeling the lawsuit as a manipulative tactic often used by abusers to discredit their victims. They refuted Baldoni’s claims, alleging that it was Baldoni and Wayfarer who had negative experiences with the cast. They also mentioned that Sony had asked Lively to oversee the film’s final edit, which turned out to be a successful distribution.
The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni has been ongoing, with Lively previously filing a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni in California and a lawsuit in New York, which he has denied. Baldoni is now seeking damages of over $400 million for various allegations including defamation, invasion of privacy, and interference with economic advantage.
Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, stated that the lawsuit was based on substantial evidence showing Lively and her team’s attempt to tarnish Baldoni’s reputation using misleading and doctored information. He emphasized that Lively would not succeed in her efforts and criticized her for exploiting victims of harassment for personal gain. Freedman warned that Lively’s actions would have repercussions and that she had misrepresented the truth.
Without taking any legal action, we are confident in the truth that is now known to the public. Justin and his team have nothing to conceal; the documents speak for themselves.
Here’s what Baldoni alleges in the complaint against Lively regarding claims of breach of contract, extortion, defamation, and other misconduct. Baldoni claims that Lively demanded control over her character’s costume before filming commenced. This led to excessive spending on wardrobe, going beyond the budget and consuming time and resources originally allocated for the rest of the cast.
Lively had spoken about her involvement in costume design during the film’s press tour, highlighting the importance of fashion in storytelling. She also reportedly wrote a draft of a scene involving a rooftop encounter between her character and Baldoni’s, which raised some disagreements between them.
In text messages, Lively mentioned a meeting at her penthouse where Reynolds praised her script changes, seemingly pushing Baldoni to comply with her wishes. The complaint also mentions an incident where Baldoni inquired about Lively’s weight for a scene due to his back injuries, which led to a confrontation with Reynolds accusing him of fat-shaming.
These events outlined in the complaint shed light on the complexities and tensions behind the scenes of the film production.
In a lawsuit, it is claimed that Baldoni repeatedly apologized without cause, and Reynolds demanded the removal of a scene. Lively allegedly refused to perform the scene, even after rehearsing with a stunt double. According to Lively’s complaint, Baldoni secretly contacted her fitness trainer without permission, suggesting she lose weight within two weeks. Lively later gave Baldoni an ultimatum, threatening to be recast if he did not comply with her work methods.
Following a production pause due to multiple strikes, filming was set to resume after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended. However, Lively’s lawyer sent a list of non-negotiable conditions before she would return to work, implying inappropriate conduct by Baldoni and others. Lively accused Baldoni of unscripted kissing scenes, while Baldoni’s attorneys claim an intimacy coordinator was present on set.
Lively’s demands led to further script changes, with Baldoni agreeing to most out of fear of losing control of the film. Lively eventually received her own version of the film after threatening not to promote it. She replaced the film editors with her own choice, causing Baldoni’s original editors to be let go.
Due to the existence of two film versions, an official audience test was conducted to compare Lively’s cut with Baldoni’s.
Baldoni’s version of the film was found to be more appealing to key audience demographics, as stated in the complaint. It was mentioned that actress Lively insisted on her version being released, threatening that neither she nor the film’s cast would promote it otherwise. Lively claimed that Sony had asked her to oversee the film’s editing, which ultimately led to its successful distribution. Baldoni was faced with a choice between preserving his artistic vision and career or compromising to release Lively’s version, which he did. The film went on to earn over $148 million at the box office.
Amidst the premiere, Baldoni was allegedly kept away from Lively, who demanded a producer credit for her involvement in promoting the movie. A letter was sent to the Producers Guild of America under pressure, requesting a producer credit for Lively that Baldoni and Wayfarer did not believe she deserved. During the premiere, a compromise was reached for Baldoni and his team to attend, though they were subjected to uncomfortable conditions. They were then escorted out to avoid any interaction with Lively and her guests.
Baldoni and Wayfarer claim they had to arrange and pay for a separate after-party as they were excluded from the official one attended by Lively and the cast. Baldoni also alleges that he was not invited to various events involving the cast members and that Lively influenced them to distance themselves from him on social media.
The lawsuit states that Lively informed Sony that she and the cast would not participate in any promotions for the film if Mr. Baldoni was present. She allegedly requested for him to be removed from all promotional artwork, including posters. Mr. Baldoni’s lawyers claim that Lively used tactics like unfollowing him on social media to subtly influence fans’ opinions about him. The court documents also include alleged screenshots of a text message exchange between Mr. Baldoni and actor Isabela Ferrer, suggesting that Lively turned Ferrer against him during film promotions.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that actor Ryan Reynolds instructed an executive at Mr. Baldoni’s agency to drop him as a client, citing disdain for Mr. Baldoni. Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer also claim that Reynolds accused Mr. Baldoni of being a “sexual predator” and demanded that the agency sever ties with him. These allegations were made in a lawsuit against the New York Times, though the agency denied any such conversations took place.
In addition, the court documents state that Lively and Reynolds allegedly demanded that Wayfarer and Mr. Baldoni issue a public apology in August 2024 or face backlash from the couple in the media. When Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer did not comply, Lively and Reynolds reportedly threatened to attack them publicly. Despite these demands, no apology was issued by Mr. Baldoni or Wayfarer.
The lawsuit also claims that Lively’s team worked to tarnish Mr. Baldoni’s reputation, echoing similar allegations made in a separate libel lawsuit against The New York Times. Text messages and emails between public relations experts allegedly suggest that Lively initiated a smear campaign against Mr. Baldoni, while his lawyers argue that it was actually the other way around.
The day after filing a sexual harassment complaint against actor Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department, actress Lively accused him of repeated harassment on the set of their film and inappropriate behavior during intimate scenes. In response, Baldoni filed a lawsuit against Lively, claiming that she and her team collaborated closely with The New York Times for an extended period, even before officially lodging the complaint. He asserted that Lively had shared a copy of her complaint with the newspaper well in advance of filing it. According to the lawsuit, Lively and her team selectively shared text messages taken out of context, aiming to portray Baldoni and others as orchestrating a malicious scheme to ruin her credibility through a covert smear campaign.
In a statement issued on January 16, a spokesperson for The New York Times dismissed the claims made in Baldoni’s lawsuit as unfounded and reminiscent of previous baseless allegations directed at the newspaper in a separate lawsuit filed in California. Baldoni’s legal representatives contended that any negative publicity surrounding Lively during the film’s promotion arose from her own social media blunders, such as promoting her alcohol brand alongside a movie addressing domestic violence, as well as her excessively cheerful portrayal of a film dealing with serious subject matter. Allegedly, Lively sought to deflect criticism by blaming Baldoni for the backlash, instructing her team to launch a campaign portraying her as a victim while implicating him in the process.
The lawsuit further alleged that Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, orchestrated a smear campaign against Baldoni by providing false information to a journalist at the Daily Mail. Despite attempts to obtain a response from Sloane, NBC News was unsuccessful.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com.
