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In his latest lawsuit, Justin Baldoni reportedly claimed Blake Lively used the influence of husband Ryan Reynolds and best friend Taylor Swift to pressure him into accepting her rewrite of the It Ends With Us script.
Baldoni (and his company Wayfarer Studios) sued Lively, Reynolds, and the actress' publicist Leslie Sloane on Thursday, January 16, 2025, for defamation, extortion, and interference with contractual relations, among other allegations. He is seeking $400 million in damages. To be noted, Taylor Swift is not explicitly named in the complaint, nor is the singer being sued.
Lively and Baldoni starred in the film It Ends With Us, which the latter produced and directed. Last month, the actress sued Justin for launching a smear campaign against her after she accused him of s*xual harassment on set. This prompted Baldoni's latest countersuit.
As news of the development spread, internet users were quick to react. One wrote:
Many continued to criticize the director for using Taylor Swift's name.
"Justin Baldoni mention/coming for Taylor Swift was the worst possible thing he could do her fan base will DESTROY that man," one wrote.
"'taylor shouldn't be contributing to script conversations'lwell Justin baldoni shouldn't be s*xually harassing women so let's start with that," a person stated.
"I’m no legal expert, but it very much seems like he’s grasping at straws to try and discredit the victim. It also makes me think even more that he’s guilty. And he’s dragging the people Blake cares about into it to continue to hurt her," another added.
There were a few users who clarified that Taylor Swift wasn't explicitly named in the countersuit.
"As far as i know, Taylor Swift was not actually named in Justin Baldoni's lawsuit. Her name is mentioned in a screenshot of a text message but it wasn't anything negative about Taylor herself. I need people to separate Taylor from Blake Lively and her shenanigans," a user explained.
"I'm convinced people are just reading news headlines and not the actual suit. Taylor's name is in the text messages including but not the lawsuit itself," another commented.
"But also, Taylor is not named in the lawsuit. All that is alleged is that she said she liked BL's edit. I don't see how something that anecdotal would make you sway your relationship with Taylor and her music," a user wrote.
Justin Baldoni's lawsuit accused Blake Lively of organizing a "takeover strategy" to gain creative control over It Ends With Us
In his latest counter-complaint, Justin Baldoni accused Blake Lively of trying to smear his name and snatching away his control of It Ends With Us as a director. In his 179-page suit, Baldoni claimed she was "determined to make Baldoni the real-life villain in her story" to deflect from her "tone-deaf" promotion of the film during the press tour.
Baldoni is referencing the online criticism that Lively faced for promoting the film as a light-hearted story and downplaying the narrative about domestic violence. She also faced backlash for using the media coverage to promote her hair care line and drink.
The director alleged that the friction between him and Blake started in May 2023 when they began shooting. He claimed she was organizing a "takeover strategy" as they fought for creative control. The complaint detailed an instance involving Lively rewriting a key rooftop scene. Justin Baldoni was set to meet her to discuss the rewrite at Blake and Ryan's NYC penthouse.
However, he alleged that he was met with an ambush—Ryan Reynolds was present right from the start and kept praising the script. Towards the end of the meeting, a "famous, and famously close" friend of the couple walked into the room and similarly applauded her version. The lawsuit alleged that:
"Baldoni understood the subtext: he needed to comply with Lively's direction for the script."
According to Life & Style, the complaint also included a text exchange that followed between the director and actress, where Justin Baldoni told Lively that he liked her input and would have felt the same without Ryan and her "megacelebrity friend" pressuring him. To which she responded by thanking him, but later adding:
"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. For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine."
She continued to explain she was not good at "making sure (she was) seen and utilized," which they (Reynolds and the megacelebrity friend) know. She explained that they don't care about "fear of threatening egos or fear of affecting the ease of process," which is why "everyone listens to them."
To be noted, Taylor Swift is not explicitly named as the friend, nor is the singer being sued. Additionally, while the name of the "megacelebrity friend" has been redacted, one screenshot of a text exchange shows "Taylor."
Justin Baldoni claimed at one point they even battled about Blake Lively's character's wardrobe, noting that she wanted rich and s*xy outfits, which contrasted with the character who was a struggling small business owner.
He described the alleged meeting between himself, Blake, Ryan, and several cast and crew members during the reshoots where Ryan went off on him for the alleged s*xual harassment of his wife. She reportedly came with a "17-point return to production demand," most of which Justin Baldoni claimed he gave in to. However, Lively allegedly continued to torpedo the film unless she got her version, with Baldoni eventually handing over the reins to her.
Baldoni's suit includes several text exchanges that were used to reportedly "concoct a false narrative." He claimed that "Blake's PR team, led by Leslie Sloane," tried to smear his name. It also noted that during the press tour, the cast unfollowed Baldoni on social media, further pushing the campaign.
The lawsuit alleged that subsequently, over the last few months, Justin Baldoni and his team have faced abuse, writing:
"Over the last month we have received death threats, abhorrent abuse and vile anti-semitic slurs hurled at us due to her decision to use us as scapegoats for her own choices promoting her film in which she made millions of dollars."
On December 21, the New York Times explored Blake Lively's lawsuit in a bombshell article that alleged Justin Baldoni (and his PR team) coordinated a smear campaign against the actress. It also explored Lively's s*xual harassment claims.
According to a December 31 article by Variety, in response, the director sued the publication for libel, invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract. He claimed the publication "cherry-picked" the details and altered communications "stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead" the audience.
In a statement made to TMZ, Times defended their article, adding that they planned to fight the lawsuit.
Neither Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, nor Taylor Swift has publicly reacted to the lawsuit. Sloane, in a statement made to TMZ, refuted the claims.
