By Karina DiMare
Ever since the film It Ends with Us was released, it’s been cursed.
In August 2024, when the film was released, there was merely controversy over Blake Lively and how she was handling the release of the film. The public determined she was acting too lighthearted, capitalizing on florals instead of domestic violence.
After receiving severe backlash and disappearing for a while, Lively reappeared five days before Christmas with a 179-page complaint.
The battle began on Dec. 20, 2024, when Lively filed a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department against Wayfarer Studios. The complaint included allegations of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment on the set of It Ends with Us. Lively said that Justin Baldoni crossed boundaries of comfortability when improvising scenes involving physical contact.
It was reported the following morning, Dec. 21, that Baldoni was dropped from the WME talent agency. Allegedly, Lively is still with WME.
In addition, Baldoni’s Voices of Solidarity Award was rescinded on Dec. 24, 2024, following the allegations, according to BBC. The same day, Baldoni took his third hit when he was sued by his ex-publicist Stephanie Jones. Jones filed a complaint in the New York Supreme Court in which she accused Baldoni and his PR team of undermining and discrediting her.
On Dec. 31, 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit in the New York Federal Court against Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni, and his publicist. On the same day, Baldoni, along with nine others, sued The New York Times for libel because they released text messages that alluded to Lively being the target of a planned smear campaign. The lawsuit is for $250 million aimed at the article “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.” Baldoni and his team claim that many of the messages were taken out of context, such as Baldoni coming into her trailer unannounced while she was breastfeeding.
On Jan. 3, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, discussed the situation in an exclusive on The Today Show. NBC’s Liz Kreutz said Baldoni and his team are “not done taking legal action following their lawsuit against The New York Times,” and “he plans to release even more text messages between the co-stars.”
Freedman also said that their libel suit against The New York Times “will not be the last lawsuit.” When asked if he plans to sue Lively, Freedman said, “Absolutely.”
On Jan. 16, Baldoni sued Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Vision PR, the firm of Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane. Baldoni accused them of defamation and claimed that they used him in a plea to escape Lively’s backlash.
On Jan. 21, a video was released that is available on Entertainment Tonight’s YouTube channel of three takes of the scene in which Lively claims Baldoni was acting inappropriately. Baldoni’s legal team released this video in an attempt to refute Lively’s claims. In the video, both actors seem to be acting normally, but Lively’s feathers were ruffled when Baldoni said her spray tan smelled good.
On Feb. 1, there was a website created by Baldoni and his team containing a plethora of information pertaining to the situation. Upon opening the website called “Lawsuit Info,” there are two PDFs labeled “Amended Complaint” and “Timeline of Relevant Events.”
On Feb. 3, the co-star’s lawyers were informed by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman that the trial date would be moved up from March 2026 if it continued to be publicly discussed and debated. During this time, the judge warned the lawyers to refrain from making public comments about Lively and Baldoni to not sway the potential jury members.
On Feb. 4, Lively was sued for defamation in Texas Federal Court by Jed Wallace. Wallace owns Street Relations, a crisis PR firm.
The following day, in an interview with TMZ, Bryan Freedman said that he may question Taylor Swift, a friend of Lively, if necessary.
On Feb. 12, the author of It Ends with Us, Colleen Hoover, deleted all pictures of Lively from her Instagram. This was shocking because after the initial complaint Lively filed, Hoover made a post supporting her and her decision.
On Thursday, Feb. 13, Baldoni and Lively sent letters to the judge in New York federal court alluding that they wish to go to trial and that settling would be “premature.”
While there was talk of Lively and Baldoni’s creative differences on set, it is shocking that it’s ending in trial.
On Feb. 7, comedian Chelsea Handler took the opportunity at the Critics’ Choice Awards to make fun of the feud. She stated, “There’s probably not going to be a sequel. It ends with us, guys.”
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Thumbnail Image Caption: Justin Baldoni & Blake Liveley in It Ends With Us. Photo courtesy of Everett Collection/TMZ.