Justin Baldoni is taking legal action against his “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and others. He has filed a massive lawsuit against them, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
According to the suit, Blake was determined to make Baldoni the “real-life villain” to deflect from getting criticized for being “tone-deaf” during the film’s media tour. He claims she was promoting her haircare and alcohol line while promoting a film about domestic violence.
Baldoni also alleges that Ryan Reynolds and his wife Taylor Swift got involved in the writing of the script, and that Blake had a major role in rewriting the film’s critical rooftop scene. He claims that Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Swift were present at a meeting at their New York City penthouse to discuss the rewrite, where they praised Blake’s version of the scene.
The suit also includes text messages between Baldoni and Blake, including one where she refers to her husband and friend as “the dragons.” It also includes emails between the two actors, where Blake expresses gratitude for their work on the film, but Baldoni claims this was a facade to steal away control from him.
Baldoni claims that Blake wanted a more luxurious wardrobe for her character, and had not read the book on which the film is based. He also alleges that she tried to Google the color of her character’s hair instead of reading the book.
The suit also details a heated meeting in January 2024, where Blake allegedly brought a list of 17 demands to restart production, which led to Ryan Reynolds going off on Baldoni for his alleged sexual harassment on set. Baldoni claims that Blake continued to threaten to torpedo the movie unless she got to cut her own version of the film.
Baldoni’s version of the film “scored significantly higher” with key audience demographics, but he claims that Blake’s version was released instead. He was forced to fire himself from directing the movie, and the rest of the cast backed away from him on social media. He claims that Blake’s PR team, led by Leslie Sloane, then launched a campaign to portray him as the villain and pin the blame on him.
The suit is seeking $400 million in damages from Lively, Sloane, and others, and is the latest in a series of legal battles between the stars.