The Blake Lively / Justin Baldoni controversy: an overview

They have been in the news for months, accusing each other back and forth. What's going on with actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, co-stars of the film 'It Ends with Us'? The conflict between the two stars has triggered lawsuits and international media attention.

Let's start with the lawsuits. Blake Lively filed a legal suit against Baldoni for harassing her on set of 'It Ends with Us' and tarnishing her reputation afterward. Justin Baldoni and his PR firm responded to the actress's complaint with lawsuits against Lively and her allies, making demands that amount to hundreds of millions in compensation.

Then, let's move on to the main characters in this conflict. Most people know Blake Lively, the 'Gossip Girl' actress whose net worth with husband Ryan Reynolds amounts to $380 million

Lesser known is the other party in this conflict: Justin Baldoni. As a director and producer, he gained fame with the series 'Jane the Virgin (2014-2019) and founded his own independent production company, Wayfarer Studios. The company produced known films such as 'Garfield' and also took part in the production of 'It Ends With Us'. Entertainment media tend to agree that Justin Baldoni has an estimated net worth of $4 million. Yes, nearly 100 times less than Lively and Reynolds.

Blake Lively has accused Justin Baldoni, her co-star and the director of 'It Ends with Us,' of harassment during the shoot of the film and of trying to damage her reputation after production was done. She even sued Baldoni for intimate harassment and a subsequent smear campaign.

Deadline reports that Baldoni's agent, WME, parted ways with the 40-year-old actor/director on December 21, 2024, a day after Lively filed the lawsuit against him. The actress herself remains represented by WME.

Before the California Department of Civil Rights, the actress and wife of actor Ryan Reynolds said that Baldoni and his team had devised a "plan" to "destroy" her reputation. The pretext for this alleged campaign was a toxic atmosphere on set, Lively claimed, caused by continuous harassment by Baldoni.

The lawsuit is aimed against Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, his publicist, and a crisis public relations manager. It states that Baldoni misbehaved during the filming of the movie and that his team tried to silence and discredit Blake Lively afterward.

Image: still from 'It Ends With Us' / Sony

The lawsuit against Baldoni therefore consists of two parts: harassment on set and reputation damage after filming. Blake Lively claims that the smear campaign against her, in traditional and social media, was actively set up by Baldoni's team to retaliate for something that happened on the set of 'It Ends With Us'.

On that set, Lively had denounced a "hostile work environment that nearly derailed production of the film" as well as "repeated se*ual harassment and other disturbing behavior."

The complaint alleges, according to various American media outlets, that there was an on-set meeting about Lively's complaints and demands, and that her husband Ryan Reynolds was present at this meeting to stand by his wife.

According to the lawsuit, Baldoni made unwanted comments and physical acts, including impromptu kissing and gratuitous intimate content, and violated the actress's personal boundaries by entering her trailer without permission during delicate moments, such as when she was without clothes or b r e a s t feeding.

At the infamous meeting on set, Lively presented a list of demands to end the toxic atmosphere while filming. The demands icluded: no more spicy videos or images of women shown to Blake, no more mention of [Baldoni's] alleged past "p 0 r n 0 graphy addiction," no more discussing his se*ual conquests in front of Blake and others, no more descriptions of his own privates or disparaging comments toward Lively or her employees, no more questions about her weight, and no more mentioning of her dead father.

It was also agreed that an intimacy coordinator would be present at all times when Lively was on set for scenes with Baldoni. In addition, no intimate scenes would be added to those previously approved by Lively in the original script when she signed on to the project.

According to CNN, the complaint includes screenshots of text messages and correspondence obtained by Lively's legal team. These messages, dating from the period of the film's release in 2024, reportedly show orchestrated attempts by Baldoni's PR representatives to damage her reputation in the media.

The film's premiere in August had already been marred by rumors of discord between the two protagonists. Baldoni didn't stand next to his co-star but chose to stand aside with his family during the presentation.

Meanwhile, Lively argues, a press and social media manipulation campaign took place while the actors promoted the movie in several release events in the summer of 2024. It would be a way to make sure that anything Lively said about alleged harassment on set would be taken less seriously by the public.

In a statement to the media, placed in The New York Times, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman, called Lively's accusations "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious." He also indicated that the allegations are part of "another desperate attempt" to "'fix' [the] negative reputation" of the 37-year-old American actress.

The adverse reputation of the actress, he said, "was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real-time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions." Lively was said to have appeared very unsympathetic during the promotional tour of the film.

Meanwhile, Lively, who is also a producer of the film, said that her complaint "seeks to set the record straight, to hold the Wayfarer Parties and Associates accountable, and to shine a light on this new form of retaliation so that it will not be used against any others who seek to stand up and speak out against se*ual harassment." She doesn't want money but justice.

After Blake Lively filed a legal suit against Baldoni, he responded with a $250 million civil suit against The New York Times, the paper reporting on Lively's experiences from her perspective in the article 'We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine'. In addition, he hit Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds with a $400 million dollar lawsuit for their interference in the film and defamation in its aftermath.

In the image, we see Baldoni with his wife Emily Foxler

Finally, the PR firm Street Relations, used by Justin Baldoni during the promotion of the film, is suing Blake Lively for defamation because she alleges that it smeared her reputation. The company demands $7 million dollars from the actress. Altogether, we are therefore looking at $657 million in demands over the Lively / Baldoni controversy.

'It Ends With Us', an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling 2016 romance novel, exceeded box office expectations by grossing around $350 million. Its aftermath, with the costly dispute between the lead actors, however, has been bitter and ugly.

Image: trailer image from 'It Ends With Us' / Sony

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