Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni: Everything that's gone down in their legal drama

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.

Now, both stars are heading to court — with a trial date set for March 2026.

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.

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 that 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 offscreen 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.

Jan. 28

Trial date set for March 2026

A New York federal judge, Lewis J. Liman, set a trial date for March 9, 2026. He also changed the date for a pretrial conference, originally scheduled for Feb. 12, to Feb. 3.

The pretrial aims to address escalating tensions between both sides about attempting to sway public opinion through the release of private texts between the two.

Jan. 27

Texts and a voice note are leaked

The Daily Mail published leaked text messages between Lively and Baldoni, as well as a lengthy voice note sent by Baldoni. The exchanges were about a pivotal rooftop scene rewritten by Lively, who last year credited Reynolds as the writer.

Reports suggest Baldoni initially gave a lukewarm response to the changes, leaving Lively disappointed and prompting her to go silent for several days. According to Baldoni's lawsuit, he felt obligated to message Lively to apologize and praise her revisions, calling them “really good” and saying they would “make the movie sing” as collaborators.

Legal teams file back-to-back letters about ethics

In a letter, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds's legal team accused Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, of planning to launch a website releasing selectively curated texts, emails and video evidence, arguing it could mislead the public and taint the jury pool.

In response, Freedman fired back by defending the website as a transparent way to counter “provably false information” allegedly shared with the New York Times by Lively’s team.

Jan. 23

Baldoni's team responds to gag order

In a letter filed on Jan. 23, Baldoni’s team called the gag order request “inflammatory” and argued that its evidence, including leaked footage, is critical to its defense against Lively’s allegations of harassment and retaliation.

Lively's team fires back

In a response letter, filed on Jan. 23, Lively and Reynold's team criticized Baldoni’s attorneys for engaging in what it called "extrajudicial conduct" by attacking them in the media.

"Making a complaint about sexual harassment and retaliation in a lawsuit, which is also a protected activity, is covered by the litigation privilege," the letter said. "On the other hand, relentlessly publicly attacking a plaintiff in a sexual harassment and retaliation case in the media and on social media is not a protected activity."

Jan. 22

Colleen Hoover deactivates Instagram

Fans noticed on Jan. 22 that the book’s author deactivated her Instagram account amid the ongoing legal drama (though her X account still seems to be activated, for now). In December 2024, Hoover had shared a supportive Instagram Story after Lively filed her initial complaint.

Jan. 21

Baldoni's lawyers leak a clip in an attempt to disprove Lively’s claims

The Daily Mail published an unedited clip, shared by Baldoni's lawyers, adding a surprising twist to the allegations. In her civil rights complaint, Lively claimed that Baldoni dragged his lips down her neck during a silent dance scene — though leaked footage seemingly challenges her account.

In the video, Baldoni is seen asking, “Am I getting beard on you?” and Lively jokingly replies, “I’m probably getting spray tan on you,” prompting laughter from both actors. Baldoni then says, “It smells good,” prompting more laughter. The clip attempts to paint a new picture of the interaction in question.

Baldoni threatens to leak all his correspondence with Lively

Baldoni’s legal team announced plans to launch a website to counter Lively’s allegations of behind-the-scenes misconduct.

In a statement to People, Baldoni’s attorney said, "Justin Baldoni and team has nothing to hide and this once more proves this," adding that the website will contain "all correspondence as well as relevant videos that quash her claims."

The team didn't say when it planned to launch the website.

Lively and Reynolds request a gag order

According to E! News, Lively and Reynolds filed a letter to the court requesting a gag order be put in place to prevent Baldoni’s legal team from making “inflammatory written statements” and leaking “information” to the media.

Lively files petition for a top witness

Lively filed a petition in a Texas state court to depose Jed Wallace, a public relations consultant linked to her ongoing legal battle with Baldoni, so he may provide vital testimony in the case.

Jan. 16, 2025

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, 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:

• Civil extortion

• Defamation

• 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

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

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 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

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. 20

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