Actress Blake Lively and her It Ends with Us costar and director Justin Baldoni could be heading to trial next March, as a New York judge has set a trial date in the ever-escalating public and legal battle between the Hollywood figures.
It’s the latest development in a case that involves allegations of sexual harassment and smear campaigns, all tied to the making of the hit film.
Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual misbehaviour during the shooting of the film and of a subsequent campaign to tarnish her reputation. Baldoni has denied all allegations of impropriety and has countersued Lively, along with her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
The battle has prompted some observers to join one legal team or the other and sparked forums devoted to the case, much like the high-profile defamation lawsuit filed by actor Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
None of the allegations have yet to be tested in a courtroom, but that hasn’t stopped the public-relations battle and the attempt to shape the narrative in the court of public opinion. Here’s what you need to know about the case so far:
What led up to the legal dispute?
Leading up to the premiere of the film, around August 2024, there had been rumours circulating of Baldoni and Lively, as well other cast and crew, not getting along during the making of the picture. Reports suggested Baldoni had clashed with Lively and made it “uncomfortable” for her on set, along with other crew members.
There were also allegations that Baldoni had “fat shamed” Lively and that he resented her husband’s presence on the set.
Those rumours of a testy relationship were amplified when Lively and Baldoni were not seen promoting the film together.
It was around this time that the Hollywood Reporter reported that Baldoni had hired a crisis management team to deal with these allegations.
Lively also began to face a backlash of her own during the promotion of the film, accused of not taking seriously the subject matter — intimate partner abuse — and criticized for promoting her new hair care line and beverage company at the same time. Meanwhile, she faced more heat when a Norwegian journalist uploaded an old 2016 interview of Lively in which Lively takes issue with questions about her wardrobe.
Who is suing who and what’s being alleged?
Lively sues Baldoni, others:
Lively launched the first legal salvo in this dispute. She filed an 80-page complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on Dec. 20, 2024, against Baldoni, the studio behind the film and Baldoni’s publicists.
This complaint coincided with a New York Times article headlined, “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine”. The subhead read that “private messages detail an alleged campaign to tarnish Blake Lively after she accused Justin Baldoni of misconduct on the set of ‘It Ends With Us'”.
Lively’s complaint alleged “invasive, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behaviour” on behalf of Baldoni. This included allegations of unwanted touching and kissing during scenes, entering Lively’s makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, as well as discussions of Baldoni’s personal sexual experiences and previous porn addiction with another producer.
She also accused Baldoni and the studio of embarking on a “multi-tiered plan” to damage her reputation following a meeting in which she and Reynolds addressed Baldoni’s alleged behaviour.
Meanwhile, Baldoni was also sued by his former publicist for defamation and breach of contract.
Baldoni sues the New York Times:
That complaint eventually became an official lawsuit and was filed in a New York court in December. It also came the same day that Baldoni filed a $250-million US libel lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the New York Times for its article about him.
The libel lawsuit said the newspaper “relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives. But the Times did not care.”
The NYT has stood by their story, saying it was “meticulously and responsibly reported.”
Baldoni sues Lively, Reynolds:
On Jan. 16, Baldoni launched a $400-million US countersuit against Lively and Reynolds for defamation and extortion. He claimed he had been falsely accused of sexual harassment, that Lively falsified stories that she had “calculatingly devised”, and made him “a scapegoat” when she was faced with negative press.
He claimed Lively and Reynolds hijacked the production and marketing of the film and manipulated media to smear Baldoni and others on the production with false allegations of sexual and other harassment.
Who is winning the PR war?
Last week, the Baldoni team released a 10-minute video of Baldoni and Lively filming a slow dancing scene, a scene in which Lively alleged Baldoni inappropriately “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck.”
In the video, both actors appear to be amiably discussing the scene. At one point, Baldoni nuzzles Lively’s neck and asks her if he’s “getting beard” on her. Lively laughs and says she’s probably getting spray tan on him. Baldoni says that “it smells good.”
Baldoni’s team says the footage proves that they are both acting with “mutual respect and professionalism” while Lively’s team responded that “any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort.”
Baldoni’s team also released more evidence it believes exonerates their client, this time a seven-minute audio message Baldoni had apparently left for Lively.
In the message, he apologizes to Lively for “falling short” over his reaction to her script change suggestions. He says he’s a “very flawed man” and that Lively’s suggestions were “really good and would make the movie sing.”
Tieja MacLaughlin, a Toronto-based crisis public relations consultant, said that in terms of crisis PR, Baldoni’s team has the upper hand, at least for the moment.
“They certainly have been proactive from the beginning,” she said.
Blake Lively has accused her It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni of trying to ‘destroy’ her reputation after she complained about sexual harassment during the filming. An attorney for Baldoni calls the claims ‘categorically false.’
The recently released video and audio, for example, has been a critical piece in helping to portray Baldoni as a more empathetic and caring individual, and counter Lively’s narrative of him.
Lively’s team is “more behind the 8-ball when they’re reacting instead of controlling the narrative and controlling the message, which the Baldoni team is doing so well,” MacLaughlin said.
What are the legal challenges for Lively and Baldoni?
Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los Angeles-based employment and entertainment lawyer, says he sees difficulties in their cases.
He said Lively’s sexual harassment case could face challenges in meeting what’s known as the “standard of severe and pervasiveness of the conduct.” The video, released by Baldoni’s team, for example, could raise questions as to whether that behaviour should be construed as harassment, he said.
For Lively’s retaliation claim, Dowlatshahi said it could be challenging for her to prove she suffered “adverse employment action,” like termination or some other kind of employment setback because of Baldoni and the studio’s actions.
As for Baldoni, Dowlatshahi said his countersuit alleging Lively defamed him also has some hurdles.
“It seems that the defamatory conduct that he’s alleging, some of it is the actual lawsuit that she lodged, which would fall under the litigation privilege, which is a complete defence to those claims.”
He also said his lawsuit against the New York Times could be difficult to win.
“It’s more difficult when you’re a public figure to show the requisite malice and to show that maybe there was a reckless disregard for the truth,” he said.
