When Blake Lively first made the explosive allegations against her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, suing him for sexual harassment and attempting to destroy her reputation, it didn’t take long for the public to take Lively’s side. Since then, however, Lively and her A-list husband, Ryan Reynolds, have been under intense scrutiny for allegedly making up false allegations, using their star status to destroy Baldoni’s career, and trying to take advantage of the “Me Too” movement for personal gains. Here’s a closer look at this high-profile feud.
Rumors start during the It Ends with Us press tour
Shortly before It Ends With Us, the movie adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name, premiered worldwide, rumors of tension between the two co-stars began circulating online. The rumors stemmed from the “awkward” New York premiere on August 6th, where Baldoni appeared to be distant from the rest of the cast. Several major news outlets reported that he skipped watching the film with the guests, opting instead to view it with his family in the venue’s basement (which has since been revealed to be a demand from Lively herself).
In the subsequent weeks, Baldoni seemingly distanced himself from his co-star and promoted the movie separately from Lively. Despite none of his interviews featuring negative comments on Lively, this behavior was unusual, further fueling rumors about a potential fallout.
Lively criticized for promotional interviews
While Baldoni’s promotional interviews dove into the topic of domestic violence and toxic relationships, which is the premise of the original book, Lively’s promotional efforts greatly revolved around the now infamous “Grab your friends and wear your florals” statements, completely ignoring the goal of the press tour–to spread awareness about domestic violence. Given the book’s profound impact on women and survivors, it didn’t take long for the Internet to further double down on criticizing the actress and her approach.
Thousands of users on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have begun posting short clips comparing the two co-stars and their approach to the press tour, with public opinion of Lively rapidly declining. The backlash further intensified as a series of old interviews resurfaced, showing Lively making dismissive remarks to interviewers or displaying what the public perceived as narcissistic tendencies.
A complaint against Baldoni is filled
On December 20th, days after It End With Us arrived on Netflix, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a digital smear campaign, whose aim was to destroy her reputation.
Shortly after, Baldoni was dropped by his agency, and numerous A-list celebrities voiced their support for Lively publicly, including the likes of Amber Heard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Coleen Hoover, the author of the It Ends With Us book. His podcast co-star, Liz Plank, also left the show, although she did not explicitly name Baldoni and the accusations made against him as the reason for her departure.
Official lawsuits are filled
On December 31st, Lively filed an official lawsuit against Baldoni. Just hours later, Baldoni responded with his own legal action, suing The New York Times for $250 million over an article produced in collaboration with Lively, which alleged that he sexually harassed her during the filming of It Ends With Us.
On January 16, Baldoni filed a second lawsuit, directly suing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation and extortion, seeking $400 million in damages.
Furthermore, on February 1st, Baldoni’s team launched a website releasing a trove of evidence, including text messages, screenshots, videos, voicemails, and other materials exchanged between the two stars, providing the public with an extensive collection of their private interactions, sparking further controversy and debate over the ongoing legal battle.
This included text messages in which Lively refers to herself as ‘Khaleesi’, a Game of Thrones character, stating: “If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons,” referring to her long-time friend and the godmother of her three children, Taylor Swift, who she was believed to be using to pressure Baldoni into giving her creative control over the film.
The current state of the feud
Ever since the lawsuit was officially filed back in December, things couldn’t have been going worse for Lively. Despite the initial support she received after the filling, there don’t seem to be many supporters of the actress left. With new evidence against the A Simple Favor actress being exposed daily, your odds of winning a game of roulette may be better than betting on Lively to come out on top of this feud. The public seemed to have made up its mind as to who the real perpetrator was.
But the actress and her husband are not giving up just yet. With the court date set for March 9, 2026, both Lively and Baldoni are determined to see the case through to the very end. It will be interesting to see whether the trial will be televised, similar to the high-profile Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case, which sparked widespread discussion about the potential misuse of the #MeToo movement and the possibility of men being falsely accused.
