By LawInspectsBlake Lively Lawsuit primarily involves actors Blake Lively and Justine Baldoni along with Blake’s production company Wayfarer Studio. The initial lawsuit filed by Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and creating a hostile environment for her on the sets of the movie “It Ends With Us” Justin Baldoni, on the other hand, filed his own lawsuit against Blake Lively and her husband, alleging attempts by the couple to destroy him.
The legal feud started in December 2024 with Blake Lively making a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department against Justin Baldoni and other stakeholders in the film “It Ends With Us”, and the production company Wayfarer Studio, co-founded by Baldoni. Later, she turned the complaint into a lawsuit. Justin Baldoni responded by first sueing New York Times for carrying an article detailing Blake’s allegations, followed by a lawsuit against Blake Lively and her husband Reynolds in January 2025. Both lawsuits are currently pending before the court with trial scheduled to commence in March 2026.
Background of the Feud
On December 20, 2024, actor Blake Lively who had recently appeared in the hit movie “It Ends With Us”, filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against her co-star and director of the film, Justin Baldoni. In her complaint, Lively alleged emotional distress as result of sexual harassment by Baldoni, including entering her trailer when she was in a state of undress, during the filming of “It Ends With Us”.
Blake Lively also claimed that before the resumption of filming of “It Ends With Us” in January 2024, a meeting was held to address certain workplace concerns raised by her. The meeting was attended by all the stakeholders of the film and Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds. In the meeting, Lively made some demands to ensure a safe and professional working environment on the sets. Those demands, Lively claimed, were accepted by Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studio. However, soon after this meeting, as per Lively’s claims, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studio launched a social manipulation campaign to destroy Lively’s reputation.
Lawsuits and Counter Lawsuits
On December 31, 2024, Blake Lively formally filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni and others in a New York federal court. The lawsuit alleged repeated acts of sexual harassment and other indecent behavior by Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath while on the sets. In addition, Lively also accused Baldoni, his publicist and Wayfarer Studio of retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns.
On December 31, 2024, Justin Baldoni sued New York Times for libel and false light invasion of privacy, for publishing an article carrying Blake Lively’s complaint. The lawsuit claimed that New York Times used altered communications and manipulated texts, including email and text message exchanges between Baldoni’s publicists, to mislead its readers. Baldoni is seeking $250 million in damages from New York Times. NYT denied the allegations and claimed that the sources of the article, including text messages and emails, are accurate.
On January 16, 2025, Justin Baldoni and other plaintiffs, including Wayfarer Studio, producer Jamey Heath and Baldoni’s PR agents Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, filed a lawsuit in a federal court in New York against Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane. The lawsuit alleged that Lively and other defendants orchestrated a smear campaign against Baldoni, and presented him as a sexual predator to destroy his professional and personal reputation. Furthermore, the lawsuit also accused Blake Lively of attempts to steal Wayfarer’s movie and hijack Wayfarer’s premiere.
Latest Developments
On January 27, 2025, federal judge Liman set a trial date for Lively and Baldoni’s lawsuits for March 9, 2026. The judge officially consolidated the two lawsuits into a single case on March 30, 2025. On February 3, 2025, the lawyers from both sides met for the first time in court for a pre-trial hearing that lasted 90 minutes. On January 31, 2025, Baldoni filed an amended complaint against Lively and others.
On February 18, 2025, Blake Lively filed an amended lawsuit in the court. The amended lawsuit claims that apart from Lively, two more female cast members had complained about Baldoni’s inappropriate conduct, and he had acknowledged the same in writing. As per Blake’s attorneys, the amended lawsuit includes additional evidence and corroboration of her original claims.
On March 18, 2025, Ryan Reynolds moved a motion to dismiss Baldoni’s amended complaint listing him as a defendant. On March 20, 2025, Blake Lively moved a motion in the federal district court of Southern New York to dismiss Baldoni’s amended complaint against her.