After the massive success of Colleen Hoover’s novel, It Ends With Us, the movie adaptation starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, was expected to be a BookTok success story, with hopes of a sequel before the film’s release.
But rumors of tension between Baldoni and Lively began swirling during the film’s press tour in August 2024, when Baldoni was notably absent from key promotional events and observers noting that the pair weren’t photographed together at premieres — particularly the high-profile New York City premiere on Aug. 6.
At the same time, criticism about Lively’s promotional efforts was building online. Fans accused Lively of trivializing the film’s heavy themes of domestic abuse with upbeat interviews that focused on her hair care line and plugs for her alcohol brand. Some also pointed to moments during press junkets when she appeared insensitive when discussing the movie’s darker subject matter.
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During an interview with Yahoo Entertainment in August, Lively appeared to punt questions about working with Baldoni, instead describing her role as a “challenging experience.”
Baldoni faced his share of criticism as well. Reports surfaced alleging he had created an uncomfortable work environment during production, with claims that he made inappropriate comments about Lively’s weight to an on-set trainer before filming a lifting scene. Fans criticized Baldoni’s decision to hire a crisis PR manager days after the film’s premiere, with some viewing it as an attempt to control the narrative as tensions between the co-stars became more public.
Despite the off-screen controversies, It Ends With Us — which follows the story of a florist (Lively) trapped in an abusive relationship with a neurosurgeon (Baldoni) — grossed $351 million globally and secured a spot on Netflix’s global chart.
Their tensions came to a head starting in December 2024, when legal filings filed by both parties revealed an even deeper rift between the two stars.
Here’s a closer look at how the legal battle has unfolded — from Lively’s initial harassment complaint to Baldoni’s latest lawsuit.
Dec. 20, 2024
Lively takes legal action
Lively filed a legal complaint in California alleging a pattern of inappropriate and harassing behavior by Baldoni and co-producer Jamey Heath on set.
Lively alleged in the complaint that Baldoni repeatedly violated her personal boundaries, including walking into her trailer unannounced while she was breastfeeding and making comments about her weight. She also accused Heath of showing Lively a video of his wife in labor, pressuring her to simulate full nudity in a birth scene, and watching her while she was topless and having body makeup removed.
Lively further alleged in the complaint that Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, failed to enforce safeguards outlined in a side letter to her contract, which had provisions for a full-time intimacy coordinator on set, along with guarantees to prevent retaliation for reporting harassment. However, Lively claimed these measures were either inadequately enforced or ignored altogether. (In August, she told Digital Spy that it was “critical to have an intimacy coordinator” on set.)
Read more: A timeline of events that led to Lively’s complaint
Dec. 21
The New York Times story breaks
The Times published a story, “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” which detailed the sexual harassment Lively alleges she endured by Baldoni and others while filming It Ends With Us.
“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,” Lively told the outlet.
Dec. 31
Lively sues Baldoni
Lively sued Baldoni, his public relations team and film studio in a New York City federal court for retaliation for her harassment claims.
In the lawsuit, Lively reiterated allegations from her California complaint, including how Baldoni’s PR team allegedly orchestrated a smear campaign against her during the film’s press tour. The negative backlash she faced during the promotional tour, Lively argued, was a result of Baldoni’s retaliatory efforts.
Baldoni hits back at the Times
That same day, Baldoni filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times for their Dec. 20 story.
In a statement to Variety, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said that the Times “cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative.”
In a statement, the Times said that it plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit” against them.
“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” the statement said. “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.”
Read more: Baldoni’s case against the Times
Read more: Baldoni and Lively’s competing lawsuits
January 16
Baldoni sues Lively, Ryan Reynolds and others for $400M
Baldoni, who had previously hinted at more legal action, filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, the actress’s publicist Leslie Sloan and the couple’s publicity firm Vision PR. As spelled out in 179-page lawsuit, filed by Baldoni’s attorney in New York, Baldoni is suing Lively, Reynolds and Sloan for:
False light invasion of privacy
Breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing
Intentional interference with contractual relations
Intentional interference with prospective economic advantage
Negligent interference with prospective economic advantage
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds at the New York premiere of It Ends With Us, Aug. 6. (Gotham/WireImage)
More specifically, Baldoni alleges that Lively and her team orchestrated a smear campaign to tarnish his reputation and gain creative control over the film. The director also disputes Lively’s claims of harassment, calling them a “gross misrepresentation” of their working relationship. Text messages included in the filing attempt to show the pair having a “close and friendly” rapport.
One of the more headline-grabbing claims involves alleged pressure Baldoni received from Reynolds and a “megacelebrity friend” of the couple, presumed to be Taylor Swift, to rewrite a pivotal rooftop scene. In interviews, Lively publicly credited Reynolds with writing it.
Furthermore, Baldoni claims that Lively undermined the film’s production from the start — including wardrobe demands and refusing to work with the film’s domestic violence partner organization, and instead embarked on what he describes as a “tone-deaf” press tour that alienated fans.
In a statement to Yahoo Entertainment, Lively’s legal team called Baldoni’s lawsuit “another chapter in the abuser playbook.”
“They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni,” they said, explaining that the evidence will show that “the cast and others had their own negative experiences” with Baldoni.
The statement continued, “Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing. In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”
Read more: Baldoni’s complaint against Lively and its key players.
