In a lawsuit filed on December 20, Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni, her co-star and the director of It ends with usof sexual harassment, promoting a toxic work environment and orchestrating a smear campaign to damage her public image.
The legal filing comes after months of escalating tension between the two stars. Baldoni’s conspicuous absence from major press events ahead of the film’s opening in August fueled speculation, while criticism of Lively intensified online. Fans accused the actress, who also served as a producer on the project, of downplaying the film’s heavy themes of domestic violence with cheerful marketing campaigns and promotions for her hair care line.
Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestseller, It ends with us tells the story of Lily Bloom (Lively), a florist trapped in an abusive relationship with a neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni). Despite the off-screen controversies, the film grossed $351 million worldwide and secured a spot on Netflix’s global chart.
The allegations against Baldoni are in stark contrast to his public persona as an advocate for women’s rights. In her legal complaint, obtained by Yahoo Entertainment, Lively claims that much of the online backlash she faced during the press tour was orchestrated by Baldoni’s public relations crisis team. Among other inappropriate behavior Lively describes is Baldoni claiming he could talk to the dead — including her late father, who died in June 2021.
Justin Baldoni in August. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
Since the lawsuit was filed against Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni has been dropped by his talent agency WME. His lawyers have denied Lively’s claims, calling them “false” and claiming the lawsuit was a calculated attempt to repair her “negative reputation.”
Public support for Lively has grown, with figures such as Hoover, Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Schumer and Amber Heard speaking out. During his high-profile 2022 defamation trial, Johnny Depp hired the same PR crisis manager as Baldoni to defend himself during his legal battle with Heard, his ex-wife.
Lively Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants castmates America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel also issued a joint statement in their defense.
Although Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios owns the rights to Hoover’s sequel novel, It starts with usanother film in the series seems unlikely. When asked about a possible sequel, Baldoni told Entertainment Tonight in August, “I think there are better people for that.”
Here’s a closer look at how the drama unfolded — from the rocky press tour to Lively’s explosive accusations.
January 2023
It ends with us casting announced
Lively joined the film’s cast as Lily Bloom, while Baldoni, who also directed the project, took on the role of Ryle Kincaid, Lily’s abusive partner. Hoover enthusiastically endorsed the casting on Instagram.
June 2023
Filming starts and then stops during strikes
Production had begun in Hoboken, NJ, but was halted shortly afterwards due to strikes by the actors and writers. The disruptions interrupted filming for several months, and filming resumed in January 2024.
November 2023
Lively demands changes before he returns
According to the complaint, Lively approached Baldoni and Wayfarer’s attorney with a “Protections for Return to Production” document, which listed requirements for safety measures to create a safer work environment before resuming production.
From left to right: Travis Van Winkle, Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath and Andy Grammer attend the New York premiere of “It Ends With Us” on August 6. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
January 2024
Lively meets Baldoni
A “hands on” meeting – attended by Lively, Baldoni, Wayfarer CEO and producer Jamey Heath and others – will take place on January 4 to discuss what Lively described in the complaint as repeated sexual harassment and disturbing behavior.
According to the legal filings, Lively confronted Baldoni about improvising unwanted kisses and discussing his sex life, “including encounters in which he said he may not have obtained consent,” according to the New York Times. She also alleged that Heath showed her a video of his wife giving birth naked, pressured her to simulate “full nudity” in a birth scene, and watched Lively when she was topless and the body makeup up had been removed or was breastfeeding. her trailer.
Ultimately, both agreed to implement “Return to Production Protections” for Lively, her employees, and the cast and crew before production resumed — including hiring an intimacy coordinator. Lively reportedly told people that the men’s behavior had improved since the new protection measures were introduced.
April 2024
Baldoni and Lively share an emotional first look
The pair told People about the shoot, with Baldoni praising Lively as “strong, funny and intelligent,” highlighting her strong “influence” on the production. “Everything she put her hands on and thought about, she improved,” he said.
“I loved [playing] Lily,” Lively added. “I hope the love is felt by those who care about her like I do, and also by those who meet her for the first time in this film.”
Creative differences led to two final cuts
According to the New York Times, Lively and Baldoni made separate versions of the film during this time, with Sony’s approval. Ultimately, Lively’s version was chosen, with edits by the editor of Deadpool and Wolverine and the recording of a Taylor Swift song. As a result, Lively received a producer credit.
July 2024
Baldoni hires crisis manager
On July 31, Baldoni secretly hired a crisis management and PR professional, Melissa Nathan, whose previous clients include Johnny Depp, Drake and Travis Scott. He did this at the suggestion of his publicist Jennifer Abel, according to the complaint.
One of the strategies Nathan suggested was “astroturfing,” which the complaint describes as “the practice of publishing opinions or comments on the Internet, in the media, etc., that appear to come from ordinary citizens, but in reality come from a particular company or political group.”
Text messages show Nathan floating around with ideas to “help change the narrative” by hiring contractors to dominate social media and coming up with “threads of theories,” all of which she thought would be “untraceable.”
“You know we can bury anyone,” Nathan wrote in a text message to Abel, according to the complaint.
August 2024
Rumors start
As explained in an Aug. 8 story by the Hollywood Reporter, observers noted that Lively and Baldoni were avoiding each other at promotional events — including at the film’s New York premiere on Aug. 6, where Baldoni did not pose with any of the key characters . reportedly cast and viewed the film in a different theater than Lively. Internet sleuths also noticed that Lively and Hoover unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram (although he did follow them).
Sources later told Page Six that Baldoni made it an “extremely difficult” environment behind the scenes. Additional reports from TMZ claimed that Baldoni made Lively feel “uncomfortable” on set. At one point, Baldoni, who has a history of back problems, asked the on-set trainer how much Lively weighed before shooting a scene in which he lifted her. According to TMZ, the comment made Lively feel like he was “embarrassing” her.
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Lively asked questions about working with Baldoni, but instead described her role as a “challenging experience.”
The film premieres on August 9
It ends with us premiered to mixed critical reception but ultimately achieved box office success, earning $351 million worldwide. The book’s author, Hoover, described watching the film as a “dream come true.”
A ‘tone deaf’ marketing approach
Lively was criticized for her perceived “tone deaf” approach to the film’s promotion, which some said downplayed the film’s heavy subject matter, domestic violence. In response, she posted statistics about domestic violence on her Instagram, in an attempt to refocus the conversation.
Criticism of Lively grew when an interview with journalist Kjersti Flaa appeared on YouTube in 2016 with the title: “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job”, showing that Lively is not exactly friendly to the interviewer.
December 2024
Baldoni is being honored by a domestic violence organization
On December 9, Baldoni received a 2024 Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting women in leadership.
In a social media post about the recognition, he wrote: “My hope is that we can teach our boys, while they are still young, that vulnerability is strength, sensitivity is a superpower and empathy is powerful.”
Lively is taking legal action
Lively filed a legal complaint on December 20, alleging a pattern of inappropriate and harassing behavior by Baldoni and Heath on set. She also accused Wayfarer Studios of failing to comply with safeguards outlined in a cover letter to her contract in January.
Lively also claimed that the studio’s promises to provide a full-time intimacy coordinator and avoid retaliation were not sufficiently followed through. (In August, she told Digital Spy that it was “critical to have an intimacy coordinator” on set.)
Lively denies spreading negative stories about Baldoni
In a statement to the New York Times, Lively denied that she or her representatives had disseminated or disseminated negative information about Baldoni or Wayfarer.
“I hope my legal action will help pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak out about wrongdoing and help protect others who may be targeted,” she said.
Support for Vivid
After the lawsuit was filed, Lively received public support from high-profile figures such as Hoover, Paltrow, Schumer, and directors Paul Feig and Shawn Levy.
