What happened between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni?

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are two popular Hollywood personalities who have been in the news lately due to the legal battle between them which is getting a lot of attention from netizens, the entertainment industry, and the media worldwide. Both celebrities are well known for their work over the years—Blake Lively for her role in Gossip Girl (2007–2012) and hit films like A Simple Favor (2018), while Justin Baldoni is known for his role in Jane the Virgin (2014–2019) and his directorial work, including Five Feet Apart (2019).

The legal battle between the two co-stars started months after the release of It Ends with Us in August 2024. The matter became public when Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department for sexual harassment and accused him of running a PR campaign against her to ruin her reputation. Let’s take a look at the details of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle and its timeline.

Why did Blake Lively sue Justin Baldoni?

The New York Times exclusively reported that, on December 20, 2024, Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath, and the PR firm hired by them with the California Civil Rights Department. The New York Times also shared the original 80-page complaint, which included details of all the claims Lively made against Baldoni.

According to the claims shared in The New York Times report, Baldoni allegedly invaded her privacy on the set of It Ends with Us by “entering her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed.” He also allegedly improvised physical intimacy in the scenes without discussing or rehearsing it beforehand, including improvising kisses in one of the scenes. Lively accused him of making inappropriate comments about her body and “routinely degraded” her according to the filing. He allegedly contacted Lively's fitness trainer, implying that he wanted Lively to lose weight, even though she had given birth to her child just four months ago, according to the complaint.

Lively also accused him of ruining her reputation by running a ‘smear campaign’ against him. The 80-page complaint mentions that Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan’s firm, The Agency Group PR, on July 31, 2024, to ruin her image on the internet. It also includes screenshots of the conversation between Baldoni and his PR team.

After the release of The New York Times report, many celebrities came in support of Blake Lively, including Colleen Hoover (the author of It Ends with Us), Jenny Slate and Brandon Sklenar (Lively's co-actors from It Ends with Us), Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Schumer, Shawn Levy, Michele Morrone, America Ferrera, and others. They supported Lively on the internet and shared the New York Times report.

Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni timeline

• December 20, 2024: Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment and a PR smear campaign.

• December 21, 2024: The New York Times published a long investigative report on Baldoni's alleged smear campaign against Lively, which also included the original 80-page complaint filed by Lively. According to Deadline, on December 21, 2024, Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency, William Morris Endeavor (WME).

• December 24, 2024: Baldoni's ex-publicist, Stephanie Jones, and her agency, Jonesworks, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and his PR team in the New York Supreme Court.

• December 31, 2024: Lively formally filed a case against Baldoni, his film studio, Wayfarer Studios, and his PR team in the New York federal court for sexual harassment, workplace safety concerns, and severe emotional distress.

• December 31, 2024: Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times over its investigative report on Lively's harassment and smear PR campaign in the Los Angeles Superior Court. He alleged that The New York Times shared ‘almost entirely’ Lively’s unverified narrative.

• January 3, 2025: In an interview with Today, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, shared that their lawsuit against The New York Times is not the last lawsuit in Baldoni’s legal battle. He also shared that they are planning to file a lawsuit against Blake Lively and release every single message between the two of them.

• January 7, 2025: Freedman also went on Megyn Kelly’s YouTube show and discussed Baldoni's plan to sue Lively. In the interview, he also shared Baldoni’s voice note, in which he explained how he, along with his family and friends, was sent to the basement during the film's premiere as Lively didn’t want him to be seen near the cast of the film.

• January 16, 2025: Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for defamation, privacy invasion, and civil extortion in a New York court. The 179-page complaint accused Lively of taking creative control over the film’s production and marketing. In the lawsuit, Baldoni also shared photos of himself, his family, and his friends being held in the basement during the It Ends with Us premiere.

• January 21, 2025: Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman, shared a 10-minute video of the filming of a slow-dancing scene between Baldoni and Lively, in which Lively claimed Baldoni acted inappropriately with her. It includes 3 takes of the same scene, and Baldoni’s legal team stated that the footage proves both actors behave professionally.

• January 27, 2025: The Daily Mail released a nearly 7-minute voice note that Baldoni sent to Lively at 2 AM during the shooting of the film. In the voice note, Baldoni allegedly apologized for not being open to the script changes she made.

• January 27, 2025: According to NBC News, New York federal judge Lewis J. Liman has been assigned to the case and wrote in an order that Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, along with Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively, will be joined together. The trial date is set for March 9, 2026.

• January 30, 2025: Lively and Reynolds’ lawyers sent a letter to Lewis J. Liman, a New York federal judge, and requested him to dismiss Baldoni's defamation case against them at a pre-trial conference which is scheduled for February 3, 2025.

• February 1, 2025: Baldoni’s lawyers launched a public website amid the legal battle. The website includes documents related to the lawsuit. The website has two links, one with Baldoni’s complaint against Lively and Reynolds and another with the case timeline. It also shows messages between Baldoni and Lively, along with Wayfarer Studios’ communication with the cast.

Also read: List of Justin Baldonis' Movies and TV Shows