Why Did Blake Lively Sue Justin Baldoni? Updates on the ‘It Ends With Us’ Feud Amid New Lawsuit

Rumors of a feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni began swirling when he was mysteriously missing from several set photos and promotional events leading up to the release of their film, It Ends With Us, on August 9, 2024. Lively later filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and the public is curious about what happened.

Why Did Blake Lively Sue Justin Baldoni?

Lively filed a lawsuit and accused Baldoni of inappropriate behavior on the set of It Ends With Us on December 20, 2024. In the documents viewed by In Touch, Lively claimed that an “all hands” meeting was held to address the “hostile work environment” that “nearly derailed” the production of the movie.

At the meeting, several demands were made regarding Baldoni’s behavior, including “no more showing nude videos or images of women, including producer’s wife,to BL and/or her employees, no more mention of Mr. Baldoni’s ‘pornography addiction’ or BL’s lack of pornography consumption to BL or to other crew members and no more inquiries by Mr. Baldoni to BL’s trainer without her knowledge or consent to disclose her weight.”

Lively also requested that an “intimacy coordinator” be on set during her scenes with Baldoni.

She added, “No more improvising of kissing. All intimate touch must be choreographed in advance with BL and an intimacy coordinator. No biting or sucking of lip without BL’s consent. And all intimate on camera touch and conversations must be ‘in character,’ not spoken from Mr. Baldoni to BL personally.”

The documents stated that after the meeting, “the parties agreed to implement and follow the Protections for Return to Production to ensure that the Film could be completed, marketed, and released safely and successfully.”

Blake Lively Claimed Justin Baldoni Organized a Smear Campaign

The marketing of It Ends With Us fell flat, and it was partially due to the fact that Baldoni and Lively had different ideas on how the film should be promoted. While Baldoni thought the focus should be on the trauma of domestic abuse, Lively wanted to put a spotlight on the resilience of her character, Lily Bloom, with a more upbeat marketing campaign. However, in the court documents, Lively claimed that Baldoni’s domestic abuse angle was merely a tactic to “protect his public image” and part of a larger smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation.

The lawsuit claimed that Steve Sarowitz, the leading financier for It Ends With Us, “divulged at the Film’s New York premiere on August 6, 2024, that he was prepared to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family.”

Baldoni then allegedly hired crisis communications expert Melissa Nathan created a proposal that included “[a] website (to discuss), full reddit, full social account takedowns, full social crisis team on hand for anything – engage with audiences in the right way, start threads of theories (discuss) this is the way to be fully 100% protected.” Nathan noted that “all of this will be most importantly untraceable.”

Justin Baldoni Called Blake Lively’s Claims ‘Categorically False’

Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, released a statement to The New York Times the same day news of the lawsuit broke.

“It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives,” Freedman said.

Lively released a statement the following day on December 22, 2024.

“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” Lively told TMZ.

Justin Baldoni Was Reportedly Dropped by His Talent Agency

Hours after word spread about Lively’s lawsuit, Deadline reported that Baldoni had been dropped by his talent agency, WME. Sources told the outlet that the decision “was made Saturday morning by WME leadership due, at least in part, to the sexual harassment and retaliation complaint filed late Friday.”

Lively, on the other hand, was still represented by WME at the time of publication.

Colleen Hoover Broke Her Silence on Blake Lively’s Lawsuit

The author of It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover, spoke out in support of Lively after the lawsuit made headlines.

“@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” Hoover wrote via her Instagram Stories on December 22, 2024. “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”