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Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios acquired the rights to It Ends With Us in 2019, intending to create a film with a strong social message about domestic violence. Sony co-financed the project and committed to donating 1% of proceeds to domestic abuse survivors. Blake Lively was cast as the lead, Lily Bloom, and given an executive producer credit.

Initially, Baldoni and Lively had a positive working relationship, but tensions arose as Lively began asserting creative control beyond her contractual role. She made unilateral decisions regarding wardrobe and script changes, leading to budget overruns and production delays. She and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, allegedly used their influence to pressure Baldoni into accepting their creative vision.

Lively’s Increasing Control and Allegations Against Baldoni

• Lively allegedly rewrote key scenes, including one secretly altered by Reynolds.
• She accused Baldoni of fat-shaming after he inquired about her weight for a lift scene, forcing him to remove the scene.
• During the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, she requested access to dailies and raw footage, raising concerns she intended to take over editing.
• After the strikes ended in November 2023, she issued a 17-point list of demands, implying allegations of misconduct against Baldoni and the production team.
• These demands included restrictions on physical contact, banning discussions of sex or nudity, and controlling the use of intimate scene footage—despite evidence that she initiated certain interactions on set.

Lively also allegedly misrepresented key events:

• She falsely claimed there was no intimacy coordinator when there was.
• She exaggerated a birthing scene’s exposure, despite being properly clothed.
• She accused Baldoni of adding “graphic content” that was actually suggested by the intimacy coordinator and later removed.

Hostile Takeover of the Film

• After the January 4, 2024, meeting at Lively and Reynolds’ home, where Reynolds allegedly berated Baldoni, Baldoni felt forced to surrender creative control.
• Lively rewrote the script, directed key scenes, and insisted on her own cut of the film, replacing the editors and composer with Reynolds’ preferred team.
• Sony, fearing Lively’s refusal to promote the film, allowed an audience test between her cut and Baldoni’s. Though Baldoni’s version tested higher, Lively refused to step aside, ensuring her version was released.
• Baldoni was erased from promotional materials and events, including being banned from the film’s premiere, where he and Wayfarer were forced into a separate theater and security-controlled movement.

Smear Campaign Against Baldoni

• Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, allegedly leaked false information to media outlets, claiming the entire cast disliked Baldoni and even implying, falsely, that Lively was sexually assaulted.
• Former Wayfarer publicist Stephanie Jones, who had a history of abusive workplace behavior, allegedly betrayed Baldoni, leaking private communications to Lively’s team to fabricate a smear campaign narrative against him.
• The New York Times article, Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, was allegedly part of this effort, with manipulated evidence to frame Baldoni as leading a PR attack on Lively.

Legal Allegations

Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios allege:

1. Civil Extortion – Lively and Reynolds allegedly used reputational threats to gain control over the film.
2. Defamation – They knowingly spread false allegations about Baldoni and the production team.
3. False Light Invasion of Privacy – They manipulated Baldoni’s reputation through misleading media portrayals.
4. Breach of Contract – Lively allegedly interfered with Baldoni’s directorial and contractual rights.
5. Interference with Contracts & Economic Harm – Lively and Reynolds allegedly pressured talent agencies to sever ties with Baldoni, causing severe financial and reputational damage.

Legal Demands

• $400 million in damages for lost earnings, emotional distress, and reputational harm.
• Punitive damages for alleged malicious and fraudulent conduct.
• A jury trial to hold Lively, Reynolds, and their team accountable.

Conclusion

Baldoni claims that Lively and Reynolds manipulated the production, weaponized false accusations, and orchestrated a media campaign to destroy his reputation, ultimately hijacking the film. The lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable for their alleged actions.