The legal battle between co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively has officially begun, with the It Ends With Us director filing a $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times. Baldoni, along with nine other plaintiffs, including his production company Wayfarer Studios, has sued the US outlet for allegations including libel, invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied contract, as reported by PEOPLE. The 87-page complaint, filed on New Year’s Eve, specifically targets a Times article titled “‘We Can Buy Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” published after Lively filed her own complaint against Baldoni.
In an aggressive move, Baldoni has named Lively’s husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing the Hollywood couple of orchestrating a smear campaign against him. According to the lawsuit, Baldoni describes an intense confrontation that occurred on 4 January, 2024, during a meeting at the New York penthouse of Lively and Reynolds. The meeting, which was initially planned to discuss filming, took a dramatic turn when the couple allegedly confronted Baldoni with a series of grievances, including accusations of “fat-shaming” Lively.
Baldoni claims that Reynolds “berated” him during the meeting, forcing him to defend himself against what he considers to be false accusations. The suit details how Reynolds allegedly demanded Baldoni apologise to Lively, but Baldoni stood firm, denying the accusations. The encounter, which Baldoni described as “traumatic,” left those present in “shock.” The actor-director-producer insists that the accusations were untrue and that the situation escalated when Reynolds became even more enraged after Baldoni’s refusal to apologise.
The lawsuit also points to what Baldoni and his legal team describe as a “hostile takeover” of the It Ends With Us project by Lively. According to the filing, Lively’s involvement in the production after filming wrapped was seen as an attempt to control the project, culminating in Baldoni walking the red carpet solo at the movie’s premiere. Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, along with his publicists, have presented a series of texts, emails, and WhatsApp messages as evidence, claiming that Lively and Reynolds used their influence to damage Baldoni’s reputation and even attempted to prevent him from attending the premiere.
As the legal battle continues to unfold, Baldoni’s team has promised additional lawsuits in the coming days, further escalating tensions between the Hollywood power couple and the Jane the Virgin star.