Days after Blake Lively made scathing allegations against her It Ends with Us costar, Justin Baldoni, the actor/director made accusations of his own against the actress and claimed she tried to ban him and his team at Wayfarer Studios from the film’s August premiere.
Baldoni, 40, is also reportedly planning to make a tit-for-tat move by filing his own counter-suit against the Gossip Girl alum, 37.
Highlights
- Justin Baldoni made counter accusations against Blake Lively, who filed a legal complaint and a lawsuit in December, 2024.
- The actor claimed his co-star tried to “undermine” his role as director and executive producer of 'It Ends with Us.'
- He also claimed she initially refused to "permit" his attendance at the film's premiere in August.
- “This has to be the biggest filmmaking disaster in history,” remarked one social media user.
On New Year’s Eve, the Jane the Virgin star filed a $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times, in which he accused Lively of trying to “undermine” his role as a director and executive producer of the film, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel.
Justin Baldoni made counter claims against Blake Lively, who filed a legal complaint and a lawsuit in December, 2024
Image credits: Gotham/Getty Images
He claimed she “systematically sidelined [him] from the marketing of his own film” and “reluctantly” agreed to let him attend the film’s premiere.
“Further undermining Baldoni’s role, Lively initially refused to permit his attendance at the Film’s premiere. Only after significant pressure did she reluctantly agree to allow Baldoni and the Wayfarer team to attend, but under humiliating conditions,” his legal filing said, as quoted by the New York Post.
“The Wayfarer team and their families, including Baldoni and [producer Jamey] Heath, were segregated from the main cast, barred from the exclusive after-party, and forced to organize their own event at additional cost,” the lawsuit continued.
The actor claimed his co-star tried to “undermine” his role as director and executive producer of It Ends with Us
Image credits: Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Lively and Baldoni were never seen together in photographs during marketing events, and they also watched the film in separate movie theatres on August 6.
In addition to controlling his red carpet participation, the actor also claimed Lively had “stolen” the film from them.
“Baldoni’s participation on the red carpet was cut short, and his family and friends were confined to a makeshift holding area in the basement before being escorted into a separate theater after Lively’s departure,” his filing stated.
The 40-year-old director alleged that he was segregated from the main cast at the film premiere in August, 2024
Image credits: extratv
“Not only had Lively stolen the Film, but she also robbed Baldoni and his team of any genuine opportunity to celebrate their hard work.”
The lawsuit also included mentions of Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, who allegedly tried to “exile” Baldoni from the project and “berated” him during a meeting at the couple’s New York penthouse. Reynolds accused the director of “fat-shaming” his wife and the mother of his four children, as per the filing.
“Baldoni and [Wayfarer Studios] grew increasingly fearful of what Lively and Reynolds were capable of, as their actions seemed aimed at destroying Baldoni’s career and personal life,” the filing said.
The two stars avoided appearing together during promotional events and watched the film in separate theaters
Image credits: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Rumors of a feud between the two Hollywood stars had been swirling for months before the matter escalated and took a legal turn in December, 2024.
On the same day Baldoni filed the lawsuit against the New York Times, the actress filed a lawsuit in New York against her co-star for causing “severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration, and mental anguish.”
Prior to filing the lawsuit, Lively filed a legal complaint—a precursor to a lawsuit—with the California Civil Rights Commission. She alleged in the complaint that Baldoni subjected her to sexual harassment, created a hostile work environment, and orchestrated a social media campaign to destroy her reputation.
Baldoni's accusations were included in the lawsuit he filed against the New York Times for its bombshell article about Lively's legal complaint
Image credits: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Baldoni’s NYT lawsuit is connected with the news outlet’s bombshell coverage of Lively’s legal complaint.
His lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said a counter-suit would be filed in response to Lively’s complaint.
“We plan to release every single text message between the two of them," Freedman told NBC News. “We want the truth to be out there. We want the documents to be out there. We want people to make their determination based on receipts.”
As fans watched the controversy unravel, one said: “This has to be the biggest filmmaking disaster in history”
