LegalReader.com  ·  Legal News, Analysis, & Commentary

Lawsuits & Litigation

Justin Baldoni Sues Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds


— January 17, 2025

In his filing, Baldoni claims that both Lively and Reynolds committed a slew of civil violations, ranging from extortion to defamation.


Actor and director Justin Baldoni has filed a lawsuit seeking an estimated $400 million in damages from ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

According to National Public Radio, the complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday. In his filing, Baldoni claims that both Lively and Reynolds committed a slew of civil violations, ranging from extortion to defamation.

As LegalReader.com has reported before, the lawsuit is the latest escalation in an ongoing dispute between Baldoni, Lively, and other figures involved with the production of ‘It Ends With Us.’

In December, Lively filed her own complaint with the California Civil rights Department, alleging that Baldoni sexually harassed her on-set and behind the scenes. Her complaint was followed by a lawsuit. Baldoni has since denied all allegations of harassment and wrongdoing, arguing that the apparent conflict between him and Lively stems from creative differences.

Attorneys for Baldoni now say that, when production of ‘It Ends With Us’ began, the two entertainers had a positive working relationship. However, Baldoni—who is both a star and director of the film—claims that Lively gradually began leveraging her fame to obtain concessions beyond what would ordinarily be afforded to an actor.

Gavel and law books; image by Succo, via Pixabay.com.
Gavel and law books; image by Succo, via Pixabay.com.

Lively, for instance, purportedly demanded more control over wardrobe decisions; she also demanded that scenes be rewritten, and allegedly went so far as to create her own cut of the film.

Lively eventually asked that Baldoni be excluded from all promotional materials or events.

“This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media,” said Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios.

“It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret,” Freedman said.

Lively’s own legal team, as well as her publicists, have offered a different interpretation of Baldoni’s lawsuit, positing it as an obvious and abusive attempt at retaliation.

“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook. This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,” Lively’s attorneys and publicists said in a statement to NPR. “Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”

Sources

Justin Baldoni has sued Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds for $400 million

Justin Baldoni sues Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400 million as “It Ends With Us” dispute deepens

Join the conversation!