Full Drama Between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are facing a legal dispute over an incident that occurred during the filming of their 2024 summer blockbuster, It Ends With Us.

Although the toxic situation between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni only came to light in December 2024, tensions between the two have been rumbling since they first worked together on the film.

The pair also starred in the 2024 summer blockbuster It Ends With Us, in which they starred. Baldoni also served as director and executive producer.

However, months after rumors of a rift at the film’s premiere surfaced, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios, co-founder Steve Sarowitz, and other educational trolls, launching a public smear campaign that challenged her to “destroy” her reputation. She also named Jeb Wallace, an independent contractor, and two PR professionals, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, who were reportedly involved in damaging her image. While Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman dismissed the reports to PEOPLE, The New York Times published a correction to the vividly reported reports.

Baldoni then filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the outlet, which The New York Times dismissed. He then filed a second lawsuit, this time targeting Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their manager Leslie Sloane, and Sloane’s PR firm Vision PR, Inc. The suit seeks $400 million, with claims of defamation, civil damages, and other wrongdoing.

Lively’s legal team has called the event “a new chapter in the book of abuse.” Both shows are currently in preproduction, with a projected release date of March 9, 2026.

From the first event filing to the most recent forums, here’s the full timeline of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

January 26, 2023: Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are credited as the leads in It Ends With Us

Baldoni and Lively are credited as the leads in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel of the same name.

“Our Lily is going to be Blake Lively,” Hoover said in her announcement. “Blake Lively, y’all. She’s the Lily of my dreams. And then when I first met Justin Baldoni, who’s directing It Ends with Us, I immediately wanted him to play Ryle. I just thought he had the chops to play that character and I believed he would play Ryle.”

Baldoni reposted the video on her Instagram with the caption: “Here we go!!!!”

May 2023 – Early 2024: Filming on It Ends With Us Begins

Filming began on May 5, 2023, when photographers spotted Lively in character in Hoboken, New Jersey.

However, just a month later, production was halted by a writers’ strike. It wasn’t until early 2024 that production resumed, with the release date moving from February to August of that year.

August 6, 2024: Just Baldoni walks the red carpet for the It Ends With Us premiere separately from the rest of the cast

Speculation about a rift between Baldoni and his co-stars began to circulate when he unexpectedly missed the film’s promotional tour, opting instead to hold private conversations with key cast members.

The rumors intensified at the film’s August 6 New York premiere, where Lively styled the entire cast, including Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate. Baldoni, on the other hand, appeared on the red carpet alongside his wife Emily and family members, without posing with his co-stars.

He also skipped the pre-show introductions, leaving Lively and Hoover to take over, despite the fact that he is directing the production.

August 9, 2024: It Ends With Us debuts to box office

It Ends With Us has been a huge success at the domestic box office, opening with a whopping $50 million.

By the end of its third weekend, the film had become the highest-grossing film of Blake Lively’s career, grossing more than $242 million worldwide, according to Deadline.

August 13, 2024: Justin Baldoni hires a crisis public relations representative

Just days after the film’s release, Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan — a crisis PR executive at The Agency Group who had worked with Johnny Depp — to come on board.

December 20, 2024: Blake Lively files a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.

After months of speculation about unrest on the set, Lively filed a public complaint on December 20. In the complaint, she accused Baldoni of “harassment” and “unprofessionalism” during the filming process, contributing to a “toxic work environment.”

Lively also said that Baldoni’s actions, along with producer Heath’s, and a smear campaign against her after filming ended caused her to suffer “severe and lasting emotional distress, fear, and trauma,” according to the complaint.

In addition, Lively accused Baldoni of entering her personal vehicle without permission while she was breastfeeding and making sexually explicit comments on set. She accused Baldoni and his public relations team — including Abel and Nathan — of spreading false information to the media that damaged her reputation.

Attorney Freedman, on behalf of Baldoni, moved to deny the reports, asserting in a statement that Wayfarer Studios “did not take any proactive or retaliatory action, but rather responded to questions from the media to ensure that information was presented in a fair, objective, and factual manner.”

December 21, 2024: Justin Baldoni is terminated by his talent agency.

The New York Times published an investigation into the case, detailing the allegations made by Blake Lively in a complaint filed on December 21. On that day, William Morris Endeavor (WME) — Baldoni’s agency — decided to end its relationship with him. According to Deadline, this was in part due to the complaint. Notably, Blake Lively is also a client of WME.

In his lawsuit against the New York Times, Baldoni claimed that Ryan Reynolds asked WME to terminate his contract with him during the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine. However, WME quickly denied the allegation.

December 31, 2024: Justin Baldoni files a lawsuit against The New York Times

According to the lawsuit, Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times on December 31, alleging that the newspaper used “purposefully selected communications” and edited and omitted key contexts, as well as intentionally conflated them to create confusion.

Baldoni also denied some of the allegations in Lively’s lawsuit, claiming that he was “invited” to be a part of her introduction. He presented a screenshot of a conversation with Lively in which she wrote, “I’m just adding my introduction, if you want to know our lines.” Baldoni responded, “Yeah. I’m having dinner with the crew and I’ll go that way.”

The Jane the Virgin actor also hinted that while Lively accused his publicist of spreading false information about her, he believed she had done the same. Baldoni claims that Lively’s publicist, Sloane, “fabricated a false story that there were ‘multiple’ complaints filed with the human resources department during filming.”

“It is clear that Mr. Baldoni and his firm Wayfarer Associates are suggesting that I fabricated reports of on-set human resources complaints, which is completely untrue,” Sloane said in a statement to PEOPLE magazine after the lawsuit broke.

December 31, 2024: Blake Lively files lawsuit against Justin Baldoni

On the same day, Lively formally files a lawsuit against Baldoni and several related parties in New York City, after previously filing a complaint on December 20 in California.

January 16, 2025: Justin Baldoni files a defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and several others.

In the third lawsuit in a series of lawsuits, Justin Baldoni has filed a lawsuit against Blake Lively, along with Ryan Reynolds, Sloane, and the media company that represents her.

According to the complaint, Baldoni alleges that Lively never read the novel on which the film is based, leading to “misguided creative decisions” that reflect her “fundamental lack of understanding of the work.” The lawsuit also says that Lively began “interfering” with her control of the film, participating in the production in ways that amount to infringement.

Baldoni also claims that at one point during filming, Lively joked that he “should get plastic surgery” on his nose.

Baldoni isn’t the only one suing – his team, including Abel and Nathan, are also plaintiffs. Two media professionals, who told PEOPLE magazine they are “private individuals,” are now facing death threats following Lively’s complaint.

Lively’s attorneys responded by calling the lawsuit a “desperate” attack on a woman, saying “it will not succeed.”

January 21, 2025: Justin Baldoni’s team releases a behind-the-scenes video from It Ends With Us, claiming it contradicts Blake Lively’s claims.

Justin Baldoni’s team released a behind-the-scenes video from the set of It Ends With Us to media outlets, including TMZ. In the footage, Blake Lively and Baldoni are filming a slow-dance scene for the film’s editing.

In her lawsuit, Lively alleges that during the scene — which she says was unscripted — Baldoni “leaned in and slowly slid his lips from her ear to her neck while saying ‘you smell good’… When Lively later objected to the behavior, Baldoni responded, ‘I’m not even attracted to you.'”

However, footage of the scene shows the two chatting and joking in a manner that is out of character. Lively is heard saying, “Maybe I’ll spray tan you,” and Baldoni laughs, replying, “You smell good.”

In response to the release of the footage, Lively’s attorneys told PEOPLE that the video shows Baldoni “attempting to kiss her,” while Lively “leans away and repeatedly suggests that the characters just have dialogue.” They asserted that “every frame of the released video confirms every word” that Lively had said in her lawsuit about the scene.

January 27, 2025: A formal trial date is set for March 2026, coinciding with the release of Justin Baldoni’s audio apology.

Judge Lewis J. Liman announced in an order filed on January 27 that the two cases have been consolidated into Lively v. Baldoni et al., with a trial scheduled for March 9, 2026. A preliminary hearing will be held before that to address Lively’s request for a restraining order.

Also on that day, a voice memo allegedly sent to Lively by Baldoni was leaked, in which the actor apologized for his reaction to changes Lively suggested to the script.

He was heard saying, “I’m really sorry. I know I handled it badly, and you worked really hard on it.” PEOPLE was unable to verify when the recording was made.

February 1, 2025: Justin Baldoni launches a personal website where he plans to post evidence related to the incident.

A month after Justin Baldoni’s attorney pledged to launch a website providing evidence related to his client’s allegations against Blake Lively, that website was officially unveiled on February 1.

The website, simply titled “Information About the Lawsuit,” includes a link to a PDF of Baldoni’s amended complaint, as well as a link to a “timeline of relevant events” — a PDF detailing the allegations surrounding Lively’s selection and subsequent events, complete with screenshots of alleged conversations between the two.

February 3, 2025: During a pretrial conference, the judge warns both sides not to turn the case into a media war

At a pretrial conference between Lively and Baldoni, Judge Liman warned the lawyers for both sides not to make the case public, saying he might speed up the trial if it continued.He also ordered both sides to abide by the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibits lawyers from making statements that could “substantially affect” the impartiality of the jury.

February 4, 2025: Justin Baldoni releases notes from a meeting with an intimacy coordinator — a meeting that Lively allegedly ignored

In an amended complaint filed on January 31, Baldoni included a photo of two pages of notes he said were from a meeting with an intimacy coordinator — whom he had previously accused Lively of being uncooperative with.
According to the filing, Baldoni met with the coordinator in April 2023 to “discuss how to do intimate scenes.” He also included screenshots of text messages he allegedly exchanged with Lively, in which he offered to set up a meeting for her, to which she responded, “I’m fine. I can meet her when we start 🙂 thank you!”
That same day, a source close to Blake Lively told PEOPLE that the actress has remained calm and is currently focused on her family.
“Blake is very calm, which is surprising. She is trying to give her full attention to her family life,” the source said.
“She is communicating with her team every day. Blake sees this lawsuit as a necessary setback, but she doesn’t let it overshadow what’s most important to her — her children,” the source added.

February 19, 2025: Blake Lively files an amended complaint against Justin Baldoni.

In an amended version of the complaint, Lively’s attorney said the document “adds important evidence and testimony to support her original allegations” and “contains previously undisclosed communications” involving Lively, Sony, Wayfarer Studios, and “numerous other witnesses.”
A spokesperson for Lively said the new filing “details the testimony that supports Blake’s original concerns about sexual harassment and retaliation.” She also noted that the document shows that “numerous other women shared with Blake their discomfort, fear of speaking up, and fear of public criticism.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Baldoni’s attorney, Freedman, called the amended complaint “unpersuasive,” saying it was “filled with unfounded hearsay from anonymous witnesses who appear to have no desire to come forward or publicly support her case.”
He continued, “Since documents don’t lie and people do, upcoming testimony from those who supported Ms. Lively’s false allegations as well as from witnesses who observed her own behavior will shed light on the matter.” He added, “What is troubling here is that Ms. Lively has no actual evidence.”

See more at KpopAll

Articles you should refer to below:

Jessie T. Usher

Behind the Scenes of Dungeons & Dragons

Mickey 17