Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends with Us' legal battle: A timeline
The onscreen drama of "It Ends with Us" is nothing compared to the legal battle its co-stars, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, are at the center of in real life.
The castmates have been embroiled in a heated legal feud since December 2024, when Lively first filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of the film, which he also directed.
Lively, represented by attorney Michael Gottlieb, and Baldoni, represented by attorney Bryan Freedman, have launched dueling lawsuits against each other in the weeks since, dominating headlines and drawing attention at every step.
The actors are due to appear in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York March 9, 2026, with Judge Lewis Liman overseeing the case.
Ahead of their court date, Lively followed in Baldoni's steps by filing an amended version of her original complaint, one that her lawyers said "provides significant additional evidence and corroboration of her original claims."
Keep reading to see a timeline of the events in the actors' legal back-and-forth.
Aug. 9, 2024: 'It Ends with Us' debuts in theaters, becomes a box-office success
"It Ends with Us," based on Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel of the same name, debuted in theaters on Aug. 9.
The film, which explores themes of domestic violence and emotional abuse, starred Lively, Baldoni, Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar, Hasan Minaj and more. Christy Hall wrote the screenplay and Baldoni directed.
According to the box-office data website The Numbers, "It Ends with Us" grossed nearly $350 million worldwide.
Dec. 20, 2024: Lively files initial complaint
Lively first filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department in late December, alleging "severe emotional distress" after she said Baldoni and key stakeholders in the film sexually harassed her and attempted, along with Baldoni's production company, to orchestrate a smear campaign against her.
The allegations in the California complaint were detailed in a New York Times article titled "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine." Included in the report were details surrounding a January 2024 "all hands" meeting -- held "prior to resuming filming of 'It Ends With Us,'" according to the complaint -- that was held to address Lively's workplace concerns, adding that it was attended by key stakeholders in the film and Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds. Lively said she laid out specific demands at that meeting to ensure a safe and professional working environment to which she says Baldoni and Wayfarer agreed.
Lively claimed Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, which produced "It Ends With Us," then engaged in a "social manipulation" campaign to "destroy" Lively's reputation, according to the complaint.
Freedman, the attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, denied the allegations, calling Lively's claims "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."
Lively was criticized during the "It Ends with Us" tour for her conduct during press interviews and from some who felt she did not highlight the film's focus of domestic violence enough.
Dec. 31, 2024: Baldoni sues The New York Times
Baldoni filed a lawsuit against the New York Times for libel and false light invasion of privacy on Dec. 31 after it published the article about Lively's California complaint.
The lawsuit claimed the Times, which included the alleged text messages and email exchanges between Baldoni's publicists Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan, had relied on "cherry-picked" and altered communications, with details "stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced" to "mislead."
Baldoni is seeking $250 million in damages in his suit against the Times and also listed nine other co-plaintiffs including Wayfarer Studios LLC and his publicists, Abel and Nathan.
Freedman claimed in a statement to "GMA" that the Times "cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative."
A Times spokesperson told "GMA" that the they "plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit," adding, "The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead. Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article."
Dec. 31, 2024: Lively formalizes details from California complaint into a lawsuit against Baldoni
On Dec. 31, Lively formalized her initial California Civil Rights Department complaint into a lawsuit filed in New York, which reiterated details she previously presented in her California complaint.
Attorneys for Lively said in a statement that the actress's "decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks."
"As alleged in Ms. Lively's federal Complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns," Lively's attorneys claimed. "Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court."
Baldoni denied the allegations.
Jan. 7, 2025: Lively and Baldoni's lawyers issue dueling statements
In a statement obtained by ABC News on Jan. 7, Lively's lawyers said their client's "federal litigation before the Southern District of New York involves serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation, backed by concrete facts."
"This is not a 'feud' arising from 'creative differences' or a 'he said/she said' situation," Lively's attorneys added. "As alleged in Ms. Lively's complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set."
The statement continued by asking "everyone to remember that sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry."
Freedman, Baldoni's lawyer, responded to the statement from Lively's camp by saying, "It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending the New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint."
"We are releasing all of the evidence which will show a pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie. None of this will come as a surprise because consistent with her past behavior Blake Lively used other people to communicate those threats and bully her way to get whatever she wanted. We have all the receipts and more."
Jan. 16, 2025: Baldoni sues Lively and Reynolds
Baldoni formally filed a civil lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, the couple's publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane's public relations company Vision PR for, among other things, extortion and defamation.
Baldoni accused Lively of having "robbed" him and Wayfarer Studios LLC of control of "It Ends with Us," as well as destroying Baldoni's "personal and professional reputations and livelihood."
Baldoni, Wayfarer, Baldoni's publicist Jennifer Abel, Melissa Nathan -- a crisis PR specialist hired by Wayfarer Studios -- and Baldoni's friend, podcast co-host, and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath are listed as plaintiffs. They are seeking $400 million in damages.
The suit claims Lively pushed a "false and damaging narrative" against Baldoni that was "rife with lies and doctored 'evidence'" in accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of "It Ends with Us."
Baldoni's suit accuses Sloane of having gone "so far as to propagate malicious stories portraying Baldoni as a sexual predator" and Reynolds of using the term to describe Baldoni in a call with Baldoni's agent. The suit claims Reynolds told Baldoni's rep to "drop" him as a client.
The suit also claims Baldoni and the other plaintiffs were "the targets of a calculated and vitriolic smear campaign" lodged by the defendants, and that Lively, leveraging her and her husband's star power, took control of the film -- including Lively having her own cut of it.
Freedman called the lawsuit "a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team's duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media."
Lively's lawyers responded with a statement calling the lawsuit "another chapter in the abuser playbook."
"This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender."
"They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni. The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer," the statement continued. "The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony's cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success."
Jan. 27, 2025: Lively's attorneys send latest letter to judge regarding actions by Baldoni's lawyer
Lively and Reynolds' lawyers filed the latest of several letters to Judge Liman on Jan. 27 regarding Freedman's comments to the media.
The couple's legal team has claimed Freedman is influencing "public perception" of the cases and "tainting" and attempting to "prejudice" a jury pool "beyond repair" by sharing "false and defamatory statements and character attacks against Ms. Lively" to the media.
Their letter requested the judge to keep Freedman from releasing "strategically selected" evidence, specifically pointing to Freedman's promise to create a website to house all communications between Lively and Baldoni for public consumption. The website, they claim, would be "incomplete, biased, and prejudicial by design." They also asked the judge to address Freedman's conduct with the media, writing, "The endless stream of defamatory and extrajudicial media statements must end."
In response, Freedman said in a statement: "The irony continues to be rich for team Lively/Reynolds. Our intention with the upcoming website is to do the exact opposite of what they themselves did when they gave provably false information to the New York Times. We will not be selective, we will not cherry pick and we will not doctor text messages. Both Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds do not yet understand that there isn't one rule for them and one rule for everybody else."
Jan. 27, 2025: Judge sets trial date, initial pretrial conference
On Jan. 27, Judge Liman set a trial date in the matter of Lively and Baldoni's lawsuits for March 9, 2026.
At the time, he signaled a plan to consolidate the actors' lawsuits against each other into one and told both parties to be prepared to address "pretrial publicity and attorney conduct" at the initial pretrial conference on Feb. 3.
Jan. 30, 2025: Judge officially consolidates Lively and Baldoni's lawsuits
Lively and Reynolds' attorney stated they intend to file a motion to "dismiss" Baldoni's lawsuit against them in a court document submitted Jan. 30.
In an order also filed Jan. 30, Judge Liman instructed the clerk to consolidate the cases between Lively and Baldoni into one singular case.
Jan. 31, 2025: Baldoni's team launches website containing amended complaint, timeline
In the days before the actors' lawyers met in court for the first time, Baldoni's attorneys launched a website containing two links: one to an amended version of Baldoni's complaint, as well as a document titled "Timeline of Relevant Events," both of which are noted to have been published Jan. 31.
Feb. 3, 2025: Lively and Baldoni's lawyers meet in court for the 1st time
Attorneys for Lively and Baldoni met in court for the first time on Feb. 3 for a 90-minute hearing that largely revolved around scheduling going forward but offered insights into upcoming strategy, what's to come and concerns about the case being litigated in the media.
Gottlieb said they would be moving to dismiss the complaint from Baldoni and that they would file an amended complaint of their own by the end of next week that would add both new claims and new defendants -- though they did not say who or what.
Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni, said they plan to dismiss their case against The New York Times in California, as the publication has been added to the New York case in an effort to speed things along, saying "it kind of made no sense at all to be doing this on different coasts."
The New York Times told ABC News in a statement -- which referenced their initial statement -- that their story "was meticulously and responsibly reported" and that they "plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit."
Despite the changes, Freedman indicated their desire to move the case along and noted he wants to take Lively's deposition as soon as possible, saying, "We would like to move this case along as quickly as possible. There's no reason to wait."
Lively's attorney said the actress has "suffered an ongoing campaign of retaliation" and is "very eager to have her day in court."
Judge Liman said the idea of early depositions is "not going forward" until all parties are decided on in the case, adding, "I'm not going to have people deposed twice, unless there's a really good reason."
Sigrid McCawley, an attorney for Sloane and Vision PR, Lively and Reynolds' publicist, said they would be filing a motion to dismiss regarding the claims against her client and her business.
The issue of the case being litigated in the press was a major topic of discussion by both lawyers.
Gottlieb said Freedman's public statements have been defamatory and "continue the campaign of retaliation" against Lively. He added that they are not seeking "a gag order" against Freedman, only for the judge to adopt the rules of professional conduct for lawyers that govern what can be said outside of court.
Freedman signaled he also wanted those rules adopted, saying, "This has not been a one-way street."
Both the judge and Lively's attorney took issue with an attachment Freedman included on a recently launched website, the document titled "Timeline of Relevant Events."
"The law is pretty clear -- you can't just attach a factual narrative," Judge Liman said, later stating that sanctions are possible.
At one point in Monday's hearing, the judge also stated that he has the power to move up the trial date if the case is litigated in the press to the point that it becomes untenable. "I don't want to do that," Judge Liman warned, but noted that he could.
Feb. 16, 2025: Lively and Reynolds attend 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special'
Lively and Reynolds attended the 50th anniversary special for "Saturday Night Live" in New York City on Feb. 16. During the show, the couple participated in a segment with comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler titled "Audience Q&A" in a moment that seemingly referenced their ongoing legal drama.
As Reynolds stood up to ask a question, Fey asked, "How's it going?"
Reynolds answered, "Great. Why? What have you heard?"
Fey then said "cool stuff only" while Poehler said "great stuff."
Reynolds, in response, said, "Yeah, OK," while Lively smiled.
Feb. 18, 2025: Lively files amended complaint
Lively filed an amended version of her lawsuit in court on Feb. 18.
The actress's lawyers said in a statement that the new version "provides significant additional evidence and corroboration of her original claims" and "includes previously undisclosed communications" as well as "numerous other witnesses."
The amended complaint alleges that Lively was not the only woman to voice concern over sexual harassment on the set of "It Ends with Us."
Lively's complaint notes that in May 2023 "another female cast member reported her own concerns regarding Mr. Baldoni's unwelcome behavior" and that the cast member came forward despite "considerable reservations" because she felt "the work on the Film was suffering as a result of Mr. Baldoni's behavior." She claims Baldoni then "responded to that cast member in writing, acknowledging that he was aware of her concerns and that adjustments would be made" but that conditions didn't approve.
"Later, another female cast member confided to Ms. Lively that she too felt uncomfortable on set," the amended complaint reads. "All of this occurred, and was documented in writing, almost one year before the editing of the Film began."
Lively's amended complaint alleges that Baldoni's "false narrative crumbles under the indisputable truth that Ms. Lively was not alone in complaining about Mr. Baldoni and raised her concerns contemporaneously as they arose in 2023, not in connection with some imagined power play for control of the Film in 2024." Additionally, it alleges Baldoni "acknowledged the complaints in writing at the time" and "knew that women other than Ms. Lively also were uncomfortable and had complained about his behavior."
Lively argues in her amended complaint that Baldoni's public persona of having "portrayed himself as a leader of the male feminist movement" is a "stark contrast" to his private behavior, which she alleges "is replete with hypocrisy, misogyny, and retaliation."
The actress' attorneys said in a statement of the amended complaint, "Over the next several weeks, we will move to dismiss the utterly meritless lawsuits brought against Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds, and we will move full speed ahead with discovery that we expect will reveal shocking details about the depth to which the Defendants have sunk in their unending efforts to 'bury,' 'ruin,' and 'destroy' Ms. Lively and her family."
The amended complaint has also added a new claim for defamation, which, according to Lively's attorneys, is "based on the repeated false statements the defendants have made about Ms. Lively since she filed her original complaint."
Baldoni's lawyer, Freedman, issued a statement in response to Lively's amended complaint, claiming in part that it "is filled with unsubstantial hearsay of unnamed persons who are clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims."
"Since documents do not lie and people do, the upcoming depositions of those who initially supported Ms. Lively's false claims and those who are witnesses to her own behavior will be enlightening," he continued. "What is truly remarkable here is Ms. Lively's lack of actual evidence."
March 6, 2025: Lively, Reynolds request text messages be kept private
During a court hearing on March 6, Lively and Reynolds' attorney argued for a confidentiality order, arguing that Baldoni should not have access to certain texts between the couple and their high-profile friends.
"There is a significant chance of irreparable harm if marginal conversations with high-profile individuals with no relevance to the case were to fall into the wrong hands," the couple's attorney Meryl Governski said in court, adding, "There are 100 million reasons for these parties to leak information because the PR value is greater than complying with the court's orders."
Governski also asked the judge to designate other discovery information to attorneys' eyes only, including information on the "physical and mental health of the parties" and "speaking about children."
Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman argued in court that his team has, "no intent of disclosing any confidential information."
Freedman added that Lively's team made the request only, "because there are powerful people in the industry, somehow there is a different law that applies to them."
The judge has not yet ruled on Lively and Reynolds' request.
March 18, 2025: Reynolds files motion to dismiss Baldoni's complaint against him
On March 18, Reynolds filed a motion to dismiss Baldoni's amended complaint, which was filed in January and lists Reynolds as a defendant. In the amended complaint, Baldoni accused Reynolds of several things, including defamation. He also accused Reynolds of suggesting to WME, Baldoni's talent agency, that the agency was "working with a 'sexual predator.'" Baldoni's amended complaint goes on to say that the narrative was portrayed in stories spread by Lively's publicist, Leslie Sloane.
Reynolds' lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said in a statement, "The entirety of Mr. Baldoni's case appears to be based on Mr. Reynolds allegedly privately calling Mr. Baldoni a 'predator,' but here is the problem, that is not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true."
"The complaint doesn't allege that, and just the opposite, the allegations in the complaint suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely believes Mr. Baldoni is a predator. Mr. Reynolds' wife has accused Mr. Baldoni -- privately and in multiple complaints -- of sexual harassment and retaliation, and as pointed out by Mr. Reynolds' motion, Mr. Baldoni has also openly spoken about his past of mistreating women and pushing the boundaries of consent," their statement continued. "Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to express his opinion of Mr. Baldoni, which should be comforting to a group of people who have repeatedly called Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds 'bullies' and other names over the past year."
A spokesperson for Reynolds added that they believe Baldoni's complaint will be dismissed.
"The claims filed against Mr. Reynolds are simply a list of grievances attempting to shame Mr. Reynolds for being the man Mr. Baldoni has built his brand pretending to be, a man who is 'confident enough to listen' to the woman in his life," they said. "We look forward to this lawsuit being dismissed."
The following day, Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, responded to Reynolds' motion to dismiss the complaint against him, claiming that Reynolds tried to "destroy Justin's career."
In a statement shared with "GMA," Freedman said, "Mr. Reynolds' exploitation of his enormous power in Hollywood continues, this time arrogantly asking to be dismissed from the case despite his publicly documented involvement extending far beyond just being a 'supportive spouse.'"
He continued, "Mr. Reynolds was a key player in the scheme, defaming Justin around Hollywood, strong-arming WME into dropping Justin as a client, and trying to destroy Justin's career however possible. His fingerprints have been all over this smear campaign against Justin and the Wayfarer team since day one."
"Mr. Reynolds now attempts to reduce plainly cognizable claims to 'hurt feelings', sending a clear message that bullying is acceptable," he added. "After lighting a match, Mr. Reynolds now seeks to run from the flames. It won't work. The Wayfarer Parties' claims against him are real, and they are serious."
Freedman also took aim at Reynolds appearance on the "SNL50: The Anniversary Special" in February and said, "Mr. Reynolds can appear on as many sketch shows as he wants and feebly try to make light of his current situation, but we will not stop until he is held accountable for his actions."
March 20, 2025: Blake Lively files motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni's countersuit
Attorneys for actress Lively asked a judge on Thursday to dismiss Baldoni's amended complaint against her.
In documents filed in the Southern District of New York on Thursday afternoon, Lively's attorneys cited California Civil Code section 47.1, a law designed to protect people who report allegations of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination from being sued unless the person making the claims was acting with malice. If the case is dismissed under this law, Baldoni would also be required to pay Lively's legal fees.
Lively's lawyers Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson shared a statement with "GMA," calling Baldoni's lawsuit a "profound abuse of the legal process that has no place in federal court."
"California law now expressly prohibits suing victims who make the decision to speak out against sexual harassment or retaliation, whether in a lawsuit or in the press," their statement continued. "This meritless and retaliatory lawsuit runs head first into three legal obstacles, including the litigation, fair report, and sexual harassment privileges, the latter of which contains a mandatory fee shifting provision that will require the likes of billionaire Steve Sarowitz, Wayfarer Studios, and others that brought frivolous defamation claims against Ms. Lively to pay damages. "
They added, "In other words, in an epic self-own, the Wayfarer Parties' attempt to sue Ms. Lively 'into oblivion' has only created more liability for them, and deservedly so, given what they have done."
A spokesperson for Lively said in a statement, "The painful reality is that Ms. Lively is not alone in being sued for defamation after speaking up about being sexually harassed at work. That is entirely why California recently enacted AB 933, the Privileged Communications Incident of Sexual Assault, Harassment, or Discrimination Act, which codified California civil code section 47.1."
The statement added, "While Ms. Lively has suffered greatly by speaking up and pursuing legal claims, it is important for other people to know that they have protections, and that there is a specific law that expressly protects them from being silenced or financially ruined by a defamation lawsuit because they had the courage to speak up."
"Good Morning America" has reached out to Baldoni's reps for comment. He has vehemently denied harassing Lively and said previously that the allegations are part of a smear campaign against him.
