In a surprising turn of events, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, initially unsuspecting, found themselves embroiled in an unexpected situation with their movie project, “It Ends With Us.” Originally based on Colleen Hoover’s novel, the film premiered on August 9, 2024. However, rather than the story of Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid dominating headlines, speculation about a rumored feud between the costars became the main topic.
Internet detectives noticed that Baldoni, who also directed the film, didn’t join the cast for photos at the premiere, and social media users compared their responses to the movie’s theme of domestic violence during promotional interviews.
It wasn’t until four months later, in December 2024, that fans received an explanation for the tension. At this time, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department alleging that Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer, and others had engaged in a “sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation” after she spoke out about the “invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” she and other cast and crew members claimed to have experienced from Baldoni and Wayfarer’s CEO, Jamey Heath, on set.
The initial accusations of misbehavior and slander were first brought to light in an article published by The New York Times. On New Year’s Eve, Lively formally submitted a federal lawsuit against Baldoni and his colleagues at Wayfarer, reiterating her claims in the process.
On the same day, Baldoni initiated a $250 million libel suit against _The New York Times_, labeling their article as “untrue.” However, the newspaper defended its journalism. Subsequently, his legal team also indicated plans to sue Lively, and they followed through with this action in the new year. In January, Baldoni, Wayfarer, and others filed a $400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, and Sloane’s PR company. They accused the actress of seizing control of the film and orchestrating a smear campaign against Baldoni and Wayfarer following her negative reception for promoting the movie. The plaintiffs modified their suit in January to include _The New York Times_ as a defendant, rescinding their earlier lawsuit against the publication. In February, Lively amended her lawsuit to claim that two additional female cast members had complaints about Baldoni’s on-set behavior.
Lawyers for Lively and Baldoni have consistently refuted each other’s allegations. Lively’s team deemed Baldoni’s accusations a “desperate attempt to improve her tarnished reputation,” while Baldoni’s team labeled Lively’s actions as “another instance of the abuser playbook.”
Over time, cast and crew members came forward, revealing a voice memo, text messages, and behind-the-scenes footage. Taylor Swift became involved when she was subpoenaed by Baldoni’s legal team, but later withdrew. The trial was scheduled for March 2026.
In June 2025, a federal judge dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, Sloane’s company, and The New York Times. Lively’s legal team celebrated the ruling as “a total victory and a complete vindication.” However, Baldoni’s lawyer countered by stating, “Ms. Lively and her team’s celebratory declaration of victory is misleading.”
Meanwhile, Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni continues, along with the ongoing media attention. A year after the film’s release, let’s revisit the chronology of their legal conflict.
Four months following the cinema release of Colleen Hoover’s book adaptation “It Ends With Us”, Blake Lively submitted a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her co-star Justin Baldoni and his associates on December 20, as reported by The New York Times.
In the complaint acquired by TopMob News, Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, its CEO Jamey Heath, cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were named as defendants.
Lively claimed in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates “initiated a calculated press and digital strategy in retaliation” for expressing concerns about alleged misconduct on set, stating that she and other cast and crew members “encountered invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” from Baldoni and Heath.
She further asserted that this alleged campaign against her caused significant harm to both her personal and professional life. The charges listed in the complaint encompass sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent, and/or rectify harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy and interference with prospective economic advantage.
The following day, The New York Times printed a report detailing allegations of a counter-attack smear campaign led by Baldoni and his colleagues against Lively. According to the report, they cited her CRD complaint as evidence. The article featured messages from Baldoni, his publicist Abel, crisis communications specialist Nathan, and others mentioned in the complaint. Readers were also able to access the related court documents on The New York Times’ website. Regarding this situation, Lively stated to the outlet, “I hope my legal action will expose these underhanded retaliatory tactics aimed at silencing those who speak up about wrongdoing, and offer protection to others potentially targeted in the future.
Following the release of Lively’s complaint, Bryan Freedman – legal representative for Baldoni, Wayfarer, and their associates – vigorously denounced her allegations. In a statement on The New York Times website, he said, “It is regrettable that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such grave and entirely unfounded accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives. This appears to be yet another desperate attempt to improve her tarnished reputation, stemming from her own statements and actions during the film campaign; interviews and press activities that were publicly viewable in real time, enabling the internet community to form their opinions without editing. These claims are baseless, excessive, deliberately scandalous, and intended to damage and sensationalize the narrative in the media.”
Freedman also defended Wayfarer’s choice to engage a crisis manager prior to the movie’s marketing campaign. Later, he clarified that Wayfarer’s representatives did not take any proactive measures nor respond aggressively. They only addressed incoming media inquiries to ensure accurate and fair reporting and monitored social activity. Notably absent from the selective correspondence is evidence of a lack of proactive measures taken with the media or otherwise; what is apparent is internal strategic planning and private communication, which is standard practice among public relations professionals.
Following the publication of an article in The New York Times on December 21, talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) decided to terminate its relationship with Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, CEO of WME’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, it’s important to note that WME refuted claims made by Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband, about his role in their decision to part ways with Baldoni. These allegations were later brought up in a lawsuit filed by Baldoni against The New York Times (more details on this below).
In response to these accusations, WME, which also represents both Reynolds and Lively, issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1. They denied that any pressure was exerted by Reynolds or Lively during the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine, where Baldoni’s agent was not present. Furthermore, they stated that there had been no pressure from either Reynolds or Lively at any point to drop Baldoni as a client.
Following Lively’s CRD filing and a New York Times article, several well-known personalities expressed their support for her allegations against Baldoni. For instance, the author of “It Ends With Us,” Colleen Hoover, posted on Instagram Stories on December 21, expressing her appreciation for Lively’s honesty, kindness, and patience since they first met.
Similarly, Jenny Slate, who portrayed the sister of Baldoni’s character Ryle, declared her support for Lively in a statement to Today on December 23. Brandon Sklenar, a love interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, shared a link to the New York Times article and commended others to read it.
Lastly, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars – America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn – declared their solidarity with her as well.
On December 23rd, Liz Plank made an announcement that she was stepping down from co-hosting ‘The Man Enough Podcast’. She shared this news on Instagram, saying, ‘I wanted to let you know that I’ve informed my representatives that I will no longer be co-hosting The Man Enough podcast.’ She expressed her gratitude for the listeners’ trust and support, stating, ‘Thank you for sharing your hearts and stories with me, for giving me a space to share mine, and for making this show what it was. I will miss you all dearly.’
Although Plank didn’t reveal the reason behind her departure, it came shortly after Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. In her message to followers, she emphasized her commitment to the values they had built together, saying, ‘Thank you for being here, for trusting me, and for standing by my side for the past four years.’ She closed by mentioning future plans and her continued support for those who speak out against injustice.
Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s ex-publicist, and her firm Jonesworks LLC have taken legal action against Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel, and crisis communications specialist Nathan in New York on December 24th. The lawsuit filed with NBC News states that the defendants, Abel and Nathan, have been secretly plotting for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, breach contracts, induce contractual breaches, and steal clients and business prospects. The complaint further alleges that these actions were undertaken behind Jones’ back, with a coordinated effort to launch a smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-star and subsequently blame Jones for the campaign – despite her having no knowledge or involvement in it.
Abel, who worked at Jonesworks until last summer according to her LinkedIn profile, is accused of falsely blaming Jones as their misconduct comes to light and defaming her within the industry. Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer Jonesworks clients, are alleged to have broken their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refused to settle this dispute privately through arbitration.
TopMob News has reached out to the defendants for comment on these allegations.
In a statement to Variety on December 23, Lively’s legal team revealed they acquired the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents Nathan, Abel, and Baldoni, along with his Wayfarer associates, further clarified that none of his clients were subpoenaed regarding this matter. He also expressed his intention to sue Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s legal team without proper authorization.
Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace and Street Relations filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times Dec. 31.
In the suit obtained by TopMob, The New York Times was accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its article about a retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she voiced concerns about purported misconduct on set.
Saying the report was “false” and based on Lively’s CRD complaint, the plaintiffs denied the accusations and alleged messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context.
“Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents[,]’ the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative,” the lawsuit said, “lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”
They alleged “it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign.” She denied this.
The New York Times said it planned to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
“The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead,” it stated to TopMob. “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.”
On that very day, Lively decided to initiate a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, Nathan’s company TAG, and Abel in New York. The court documents reveal that she is accusing the defendants of sexual harassment, retaliation, negligence, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false light invasion of privacy, and aiding and abetting these offenses.
The details of her allegations were initially disclosed in the CRD complaint she filed earlier that month. Regarding the lawsuit Baldoni and his associates filed against The New York Times (which did not name Lively as a defendant), her legal team stated, “Despite this lawsuit, the claims made in her CRD and federal complaints remain unchanged.”
Her attorneys further explained, “The premise of this lawsuit suggesting that Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a strategy to avoid filing a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, is false.” They added, “As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Lively today, this premise is indeed unfounded.
In their legal case against The New York Times, the plaintiffs made it clear that they have more to address. As mentioned in the court documents, there are other wrongdoers implicated, and it’s important to note that this won’t be the only lawsuit they pursue. In a January 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni and Freedman, their attorney, confirmed that they intend to take legal action against Lively as well.
The news about Baldoni and Lively didn’t end there. For example, some social media users suggested that Reynolds may have poked fun at Baldoni in his film “Deadpool & Wolverine” through the character Nicepool.
Although Reynolds hasn’t publicly addressed these rumors, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman did share his thoughts. During an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show, which was posted to YouTube on Jan 7, Freedman said, “In my opinion, if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni’s situation. You don’t joke about it. Instead, you take it seriously. You file a complaint with HR, raise the issue, and follow due process. What you shouldn’t do is mock the person involved.
Lively’s lawyers have stated that since Lively filed a lawsuit against Wayfarer, there have been more instances of harassment towards her, not just a personal dispute or creative disagreement. The attorneys claim that Wayfarer and its associates have engaged in illegal retaliation by creating false online support (astroturfing) against Lively for standing up for herself on the film set.
The lawyers emphasized that sexual harassment and retaliation are against the law in any workplace or industry, and they urged everyone to remember this. They also warned against common tactics used to deflect allegations of misconduct, such as blaming the victim or suggesting that the offender is actually the victim. These tactics, according to the lawyers, minimize and trivialize serious misconduct accusations.
Finally, the attorneys clarified that media statements are not a defense against Lively’s claims and they will continue to pursue her case in court.
In response, Baldoni’s attorney, Freedman, told TopMob, “It’s ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of exploiting the media when it appears her own team initiated this malicious assault by leaking edited documents to the New York Times before even filing the complaint.”
He further stated, “We are disclosing all the proof that will expose a pattern of intimidation and threats to seize control of the film. This won’t be shocking since it aligns with her previous conduct, as Blake Lively often used others to deliver threats and force her way to get what she desired. We have the evidence and even more.
In simpler terms, a lawsuit was filed on January 16 in New York by Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan, and the production company It Ends With Us Movie LLC against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloane’s firm Vision PR. The lawsuit accuses all parties of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of good faith, intentional interference with contracts, and negligent interference with potential economic advantages.
The plaintiffs deny Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a smear campaign against her. Instead, they accuse her of taking control of the movie “It Ends With Us” and using Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to harm the plaintiffs’ reputation in the media after she faced criticism for promoting the film. Lively claims she promoted the movie according to Sony’s marketing plan.
The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants worked with The New York Times to publish a false and damaging report. However, The New York Times has stood by its report. In response to the lawsuit, Freedman said, “Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.
In simpler terms, Lively’s legal team referred to her lawsuit against Baldoni as a recurring pattern often seen in cases involving abusers, stating that when a woman presents solid evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation, the abuser tries to shift blame onto the victim. This tactic is commonly known as DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim Offender.
Lively’s team further accused Baldoni of retaliating after she made allegations against him, suggesting that he is trying to manipulate the narrative by claiming that Lively took creative control and distanced the cast from him.
The statement continued, stating that evidence will be presented showing that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Baldoni and Wayfarer, and that Sony asked Lively to oversee their cut of the film, which was then successfully distributed.
Lastly, her legal team criticized Baldoni’s response to the harassment allegations, stating that his defense included blaming Lively for wanting it and making it her fault. They also pointed out that he justified his actions by referring to what she was wearing. Essentially, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on attacking the victim. This strategy is desperate, does not refute the evidence in Lively’s complaint, and will ultimately fail.
In a recent development, Baldoni’s legal representatives have shared unseen footage from the filming of “It Ends With Us,” stating that the actor’s actions depicted in the video contradict Reese Witherspoon’s portrayal of him. According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the footage was intended to portray the characters falling in love and desiring closeness, with both actors maintaining a professional and respectful demeanor throughout.
On the other hand, Witherspoon’s legal team argues that the video supports her claims made in the lawsuit, as they assert that Baldoni improvised certain actions without prior discussion or consent. They further explained to TopMob News that the footage shows Witherspoon leaning away and repeatedly requesting for their characters to have a conversation instead of physical contact, which they believe resonates with any woman who has experienced inappropriate behavior at work.
In simpler terms, the couple wrote a letter to the judge managing their case, asking for Freedman (the lead attorney representing Baldoni) to be subjected to a court order that restricts him from publicly discussing the case details during the ongoing legal proceedings, in an attempt to prevent any unsuitable behavior.
A seven-minute audio message supposedly sent by Baldoni to Lively during the filming of “It Ends With Us” was made public online. In this recording, Baldoni seems to discuss the movie’s rooftop scene that Lively rewrote and mentions a meeting with Reynolds and their mutual friend, Taylor Swift, regarding these changes.
Baldoni expressed his admiration for Lively and her friends, stating “It’s amazing to have friends like those, not just because they’re two of the most creative individuals on earth, but also because you three together are simply incredible.”
In the message, Baldoni also appears to express regret for his initial reaction to Lively’s script, saying “I was wrong. One thing you should know about me is that I will acknowledge and apologize when I make a mistake.
Approximately a month following the filing of Lively’s formal legal action against Baldoni, a court hearing was scheduled for March 9, 2026.
Baldoni’s team modified their counterclaim, filed against Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, and Vision PR, Inc. on January 16 in the U.S. District Court. As reported by TopMob News, they added The New York Times to the lawsuit. In the revised document, Baldoni asserted that Lively and her associates worked together for months, spreading false information to The New York Times. The filing claimed that the newspaper selectively used communications, removed essential context, and intentionally edited them to mislead.
Baldoni launched a website detailing his lawsuit against Lively, featuring his amended complaint and a chronology of significant events. This chronology reportedly includes alleged screenshots of text conversations between Lively, Reynolds, and Baldoni.
The launch of the site occurred one month following Freedman’s statement about releasing all text messages between the two parties.
In an interview with NBC News in January, Baldoni’s lawyer expressed, “We want the truth to be exposed. We want the documents to be accessible. We want people to form their own opinions based on evidence.
In my personal perspective, I stand by Amber Lively’s account. As stated in our recently amended complaint, which has been obtained by TopMob News, not only did I voice my discomfort, but so did other women who worked on “It Ends With Us” back in May of 2023. Crucially, the actions and behavior that caused our discomfort were recorded at the time they occurred. Surprisingly, contrary to the version of events the defendants have fabricated, the person in question acknowledged these complaints in writing when they initially happened. He was aware that women other than myself had also expressed their unease and made similar complaints about his behavior.
Regrettably, for reasons stemming from the harmful environment created by the defendants’ campaign of retaliation, intimidation, and threats, we have chosen to remain anonymous at this time. The two individuals who will testify on my behalf wish to do so without fear of reprisal or further harassment.
In response to our amended complaint, Freedman has accused it of being based on hearsay with no substance. However, it is important to note that the unnamed persons I mentioned are still willing to support my claims privately, even if they have chosen not to come forward publicly at this stage.
Following Baldoni’s allegations against Sloane for spreading malevolent tales that depicted him as a sexual harasser and masterminding a defamation scheme under Lively’s guidance, Sloane subsequently requested to be released from the ongoing legal proceedings by filing a motion for dismissal.
In the documents acquired by TopMob News, Sloane’s legal representative contended that there was no substantial evidence supporting the allegations against their client and that she had been unwillingly involved in the lawsuit as a strategic diversion tactic aimed at diverting attention away from Lively’s accusations.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher, one of Lively’s legal team members, informed Variety on February 28 that they had hired Nick Shapiro, a former Deputy Chief of Staff at the CIA, to assist with the legal communications strategy regarding the ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit in the Southern District of New York.
Shapiro, who served for the CIA between 2013 and 2015 during the Obama administration, later moved on to become Visa’s vice president of global security and communications, and then Airbnb’s head of global crisis management. After spending three years at the rental company, he established his own consulting firm, known as 10th Avenue Consulting LLC.
TopMob News has reported that The New York Times submitted a request to have itself removed from the 400-million-dollar lawsuit involving Lively, Baldoni, Sloane, and Sloane’s company.
In the legal document they submitted, The newspaper contended that Baldoni’s team had been spinning a biased story that has drawn significant attention, but emphasized that “The New York Times” should not be involved in this legal dispute.
It is also worth noting that the initial $250 million lawsuit filed by Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer was dismissed once The New York Times became part of the larger $400 million lawsuit, as documented by court records obtained by Deadline.
After the motion for dismissal by The New York Times, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman approved their request to pause the discovery process, as reported by TopMob News.
In the filing, The Times asked the judge to temporarily halt both parties from sharing information or documents, a request that was granted while Judge Liman reviewed their Feb. 28 motion.
Judge Liman stated in the March 4 document that The New York Times had provided “solid reasons” and a “convincing case” suggesting that their motion to dismiss is likely to be successful.
He further added that he didn’t believe Baldoni’s team would face “unjust prejudice during the time the court considers the pending motion.”
In response, a New York Times spokesperson told TopMob News, “We are pleased with today’s court decision, which acknowledges the significant First Amendment considerations at play here. The court has prevented Mr. Baldoni from overwhelming The Times with discovery requests in a case that should not have been initiated against us.
As an ardent admirer, I couldn’t help but feel caught in the whirlwind of the recent controversy surrounding Emily Blunt and Taylor Swift’s collaboration on “It Ends With Us.” When Baldoni alleged that Lively was exploiting her friendship with Swift to claim more creative control, his legal team even went so far as to issue a subpoena for the singer. However, Swift’s representative didn’t hesitate to swiftly (no pun intended) respond to these allegations!
According to the representative, Taylor Swift didn’t appear in this movie at all. She had no role in the casting process, creative decisions, scoring of the film, or providing any feedback on the final cut.
Taylor Swift’s bond with the movie was merely granting permission for one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet,’ to be used. However, her representative stated that the subpoena for documents seems more aimed at exploiting Taylor Swift’s name for increased publicity, rather than focusing on the actual facts of the case, as other artists had also licensed songs for the film.
Baldoni’s attorneys withdrew their request later that month, per Lively’s legal team.
The judge ruled in favor of dismissing the countersuit directed towards Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, Vision PR, and The New York Times. This decision was made because Baldoni and his lawyers were unable to substantiate their accusations of defamation or civil extortion.
On Instagram Stories, Lively expressed her feelings, saying she has experienced the hurt of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the attempt to inflict manufactured embarrassment meant to shatter us. After the lawsuit was dropped against her, she noted that many others lack the means to defend themselves when faced with such legal battles.
She expressed, ‘I am filled with love and gratitude towards all those who have been by my side. Though some are familiar to me, others are not, I shall always cherish and champion each one of you.’
As an ardent admirer, I can’t help but chime in here. Contrary to what Miss Lively might be proclaiming as her triumph, let me clarify that it’s far from the truth, according to Baldoni’s legal representative. The statement was made to TopMob News, stating that her declaration is indeed predictable, yet misleading.
The lawyer stated that the case revolves around unsubstantiated claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, along with a supposed smear campaign, which Ms. Lively’s team refers to as ‘unverifiable’, since they lack the evidence to support events that did not occur.
In simpler terms, after settling down for a legal meeting at her lawyers’ office in New York, actress Lively was reported by media as engaging in a direct confrontation with Baldoni. However, her lawyers later disputed this portrayal, stating that there was no requirement for Lively to have numerous people accompanying her during the testimony.
According to Lively’s argument, it was a fact that Baldoni was present in the room, along with other defendants mentioned in the lawsuit and their lawyers.
Read More
- Gold Rate Forecast
- 4 Great Shang-Chi Characters Still Not in the MCU
- Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara Have Rare Red Carpet Date Night
- Pokémon Phantasmal Flames: Release date and where to buy
- Eiza González Defends Kaia Gerber & Lewis Pullman’s Relationship
- 10 Best Vampire TV Shows of All-Time
- Game of Thrones Star Responds to “Really Annoying” Ending Backlash (& They’re Right)
- Silksong smashes Hollow Knight peak player count in minutes
- 🤑 Metaplanet’s BTC Bonanza: 487% YTD Yield! 🤑
- SEC Wants to Know Your Crypto Secrets 🤫
2025-08-09 10:18