The legal battle between ‘It Ends With Us’ stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively is heating up, and both sides are accusing the other of serious misconduct.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman recently responded strongly to Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, calling them ‘revoltingly false.’ This comes after Lively filed a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department in December 2024 and later sued Baldoni and his associates in federal court.
According to Freedman, Lively’s accusations are part of a larger effort to ruin Baldoni’s reputation and career. “After my clients filed a comprehensive lawsuit packed with almost 200 pages of undeniable facts and documentary evidence which crushed their false allegations of a smear campaign by providing doctored communications to the New York Times, Blake and her legal team have just one heinous pivot left, and that is to double down on the revoltingly false sexual allegations against Mr. Baldoni,” he told Deadline.
Freedman continued, “Mr. Baldoni never once publicly called out Ms. Lively for her actions during filming. He addressed her concerns professionally, even though he disagreed with them.” He also accused Lively of using her ‘power and privilege’ to push a personal agenda.
The feud began during the production of ‘It Ends With Us.’ It’s a film based on Colleen Hoover’s novel about domestic abuse. The movie became a box office success and grossed nearly $400 million, but reports surfaced of tension between the two co-stars. They avoided joint press appearances, and Lively later claimed that Baldoni harassed her on set and orchestrated a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni denied these allegations and filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane. His lawsuit accuses them of defamation, extortion, and damaging his career.
The fallout extended beyond personal accusations. Lively claimed that the negative attention from Baldoni’s alleged actions hurt her business ventures, including her Blake Brown haircare line. According to her lawsuit, sales dropped dramatically after online campaigns targeted her and her brand. She stated that her company’s Instagram account was flooded with harassing comments, many from fake-looking accounts.
Lively’s legal team has accused Baldoni of using DARVO tactics, a strategy where an accused person denies wrongdoing, attacks the accuser, and claims to be the victim. They argued that Baldoni’s lawsuits and public statements are an attempt to distract from the original allegations.
Baldoni also took legal action against Marvel and Disney. He accused Reynolds of mocking him in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ through a character named ‘Nicepool,’ which Baldoni believes was inspired by the controversy surrounding ‘It Ends With Us.’ Freedman sent a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger and Marvel President Kevin Feige on January 7, asking them to preserve documents related to the character’s creation.
He also called out Reynolds on The Megyn Kelly Show, saying, “If somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it. It’s a serious issue.”
