The Lawsuit That Won’t Die
If it feels like the feud between It Ends With Us stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has been dragging on for years, you’re not imagining it. With a court date set for March 9, 2026, and both parties refusing to enter mediation, this high-profile legal saga has become Hollywood’s favorite trainwreck to watch. Industry insiders are scratching their heads, wondering how two actors from a hit movie ended up in a public battle that’s eerily reminiscent of Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard.
The Allegations That Sparked It All
In December 2024, The New York Times published an explosive piece in which Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us. According to the story, Baldoni allegedly hired publicists to discredit her if she went public. Baldoni denied the accusations and fired back with a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the Times. But the counterpunch didn’t end there.
Baldoni, along with his Wayfarer Studios partners Jamey Heath and Steve Sarowitz, sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, The New York Times, and others for defamation and extortion, seeking $400 million in damages. Lively then countersued for sexual harassment and retaliation. Most recently, she asked a judge to dismiss Baldoni’s suit, citing California law that protects individuals from retaliatory legal action after reporting harassment.
Tight-Lipped but Under a Microscope
Despite the legal hush, the entertainment world is fully tuned in. A New York judge recently granted Lively additional protections, keeping certain materials “Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” The ruling noted that gossip in “tight artistic communities” could cause harm to either party in ways not easily detected.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, responded, saying, “We are fully in agreement with the court’s decision to provide a narrow scope of protections,” including mental health records and security details.
The Public Reaction
A Misogynistic Backlash?
Many see the public response to this case as part of a broader backlash against the #MeToo movement, fueled by right-wing voices like Candace Owens and Megyn Kelly. One anonymous showrunner told Vanity Fair, “You will always win if you bet on most of America getting a hard-on—I’m including women—to hate on a woman.”
Even when Lively appeared at South by Southwest to promote Another Simple Favor, online trolls accused her of planting fake fans in the crowd—allegations debunked by the Daily Mail. Her costar Anna Kendrick’s lukewarm comment about their reunion, “Oh, you know…”, quickly became meme material.
TikTok influencer Kjersti Flaa even began selling anti-Lively T-shirts based on the moment. Meanwhile, Baldoni’s image has largely remained unscathed, with fans praising his “genuine” and “self-aware” demeanor.
A Case of PR Over Principle?
But within Hollywood, opinions are more divided. “If I knew Blake and Ryan, I’d say take your millions and shut your f***ing pieholes,” one marketing exec quipped. “What happened here? The movie is like an after-school special, but they had good chemistry. Just take the win and move on.”
Bethenny Frankel weighed in on TikTok, calling the whole ordeal a “botch job” and a case of public relations self-sabotage. “This trial is the abyss. Unnecessarily so,” she said. And she might be right. Some insiders believe that both sides are driven by principle rather than strategy.
No Mediation, No Exit Strategy
Legal and Hollywood veteran Philip Alberstat suggests that lawsuits like this are often pursued when the parties believe their reputations are existentially threatened. “Fighting it out in public, like Depp and Heard, won’t help either of them,” he said. “Private mediation is almost always better.”
How It All Started: A Success Gone Sour
A Hit Movie with a Shaky Foundation
It Ends With Us was never guaranteed box office gold. Romantic dramas don’t always perform, and critics panned the film as “ridiculous” and “squishy.” But it shocked the industry by grossing $351 million worldwide. It should have been a moment of triumph for everyone involved.
Instead, on-set tension and press-avoidance rumors started to circulate. According to one producer, Baldoni’s alleged plan to discredit Lively before she could speak out crossed a line. “What he did is a tutorial on the ‘hell to the no,’” said the producer.
The Strange Texts and Voicemails
An Email of Love Language and Misread Intentions
One of the most dissected pieces of evidence is a text allegedly from Lively, which reads, “If you knew me (in person) longer you’d have a sense of how flirty and yummy the ball busting would play. It’s my love language. Spicy and playfully bold, never with teeth.”
Online commentators have interpreted this in wildly different ways. A showrunner dismissed it as perfectly normal industry behavior. “No one likes a woman who writes in short sentences with periods,” she said.
Then there’s the six-minute voicemail Baldoni allegedly left for Lively, apologizing for his reaction to her script edits. “You probably have kids all over you and a baby on your boob,” he says. “I hope you’re feeling better, and give Ryan my love.”
Critics called the comment about her “boob” inappropriate. Others say it’s just a stressed-out director trying to salvage a spiraling production.
The Dailies: Another Layer of Controversy
The Video Evidence
Baldoni’s team released raw footage from the set, along with a statement from Bryan Freedman claiming that the clips “clearly refute Ms. Lively’s characterization of his behavior.”
Lively’s attorneys countered, stating that the footage actually corroborates her claims of harassment. So far, viewers have been split, with interpretations largely falling along preexisting lines of support.
Online Theories: Love Triangles and TikTok Speculation
One TikTok creator, Markos Bitsakakis, suggested that a secret love triangle might be behind the drama—a completely unfounded theory that nonetheless earned 1.9 million likes. Hollywood insiders dismissed the idea but noted that the initially warm tone of texts and emails is typical of early collaboration.
“In the beginning of any working relationship in Hollywood, it’s a love fest,” said one producer. “Then things get complicated.”
Brand Equity and the Fallout
Damage Done
Whether or not either party wins in court, both have suffered reputational hits. Lively, in particular, has faced intense scrutiny and online ridicule. Baldoni has escaped relatively unscathed so far, but any verdict could shift public opinion dramatically.
Brands and studios are watching closely, wary of getting entangled in a narrative that increasingly feels like a cultural Rorschach test.
Where Things Stand
With the court date still nearly a year away and no sign of a resolution in sight, this legal saga seems destined to play out in public for the foreseeable future. The real question now is: will there be anything left to salvage when it’s all over?
As one producer summed up, “Everyone should have just shut up and taken the win. But now, the whole town’s watching them crash and burn in real-time.”
Final Thoughts
In a post-‘Depp v. Heard’ world, the Lively-Baldoni feud raises uncomfortable questions about gender, power, and the limits of Hollywood’s support for the #MeToo movement. Regardless of who “wins” the court battle, the industry is already tallying the losses. And for fans watching from the sidelines? It’s the ultimate reminder that success in Hollywood can be as fleeting as a headline—and just as brutal.
