The legal battle between Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, and Ryan Reynolds has been making headlines recently. It all started with the production of the film “It Ends With Us,” which premiered in August 2024. The film, based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, was directed by and starred Justin Baldoni, with Blake Lively as his co-star.
The lawsuit filed by Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios, against Lively and Reynolds, alleges civil extortion, defamation, and a slew of contract-related claims. The suit, filed in the federal District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks $400 million in damages
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. According to the lawsuit, Lively and Reynolds hijacked the production and marketing of the film, manipulating media to smear Baldoni and others on the production with false allegations of sexual and other harassment
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The conflict between Lively and Baldoni reportedly began as a creative struggle for control of the film. Lively allegedly leveraged her star power to push for creative input beyond what is usually granted to an actor, including taking over wardrobe decisions, rewriting scenes, and creating her own cut of the film
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. The lawsuit vehemently denies that Baldoni or anyone else on-set engaged in sexual harassment or any other inappropriate behavior towards Lively or her team
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In December 2024, Lively filed a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department, alleging that she had faced sexual harassment and other unwanted behavior from both Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath on the set of the film
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. She followed up with a lawsuit, alleging that despite written agreements that the behavior would stop and she would not be retaliated against, Baldoni and the studio hired a crisis PR firm that launched a “smear campaign” against her image
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Baldoni, along with his and Heath’s publicists and a contractor, have denied any harassment or wrongdoing and instead paint the conflict as a creative struggle for control of the film between its two lead actors
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. The lawsuit filed by Baldoni, Wayfarer, and their publicists reiterates the argument that the conflict with Lively emerged from a creative struggle
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The legal battle has garnered significant media attention, with both sides presenting their cases in the court of public opinion. Lively’s legal team has called Baldoni’s lawsuit “another chapter in the abuser playbook,” accusing him of attempting to turn the tables on the victim
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. Baldoni’s legal team, on the other hand, claims that Lively and Reynolds led a string of “extortionate threats” to tarnish Baldoni’s image
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The fallout from this legal battle has led to discussions about the treatment of female actors both on sets and in media. The case has also highlighted the power dynamics in Hollywood and the lengths to which individuals will go to protect their reputations and careers
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For more details, you can check out this YouTube video that covers the entire saga.
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WUNC
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apnews.com
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