Justin Baldoni has accused Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively of using sexual harassment allegations to “accumulate power” over the direction of 2024 romantic drama It Ends with Us, which has seen the stars embroiled in a complex legal dispute.
Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios made the allegation after Reynolds filed to be dismissed from the $400m countersuit against him and his wife Lively.
Baldoni and his It Ends with Us co-star Lively, who is married to Reynolds, are involved in a number of legal actions related to her claim that she was sexually harassed by the director, and his claim that she and Reynolds attempted to destroy his career. In the new filing, Baldoni accused the couple of exaggerating what he described as “benign interactions” to make it seem Lively was sexually harassed.
Lively filed her initial suit against Baldoni in December 2024, accusing the director of sexual harassment during filming and organising a “smear campaign” against her in the months that followed.
Baldoni has denied the accusations, and filed a countersuit on 16 January accusing Lively and Reynolds of civil extortion, defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, interference with prospective economic advantage and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.
His lawyers have also accused Reynolds of mocking Baldoni through the “Nicepool” character in his recent movie Deadpool & Wolverine.
Baldoni is also suing The New York Times for libel over its reporting of Lively’s claims.
Baldoni’s fresh memorandum, filed on 1 April, aims to block the Deadpool star’s motion to be dismissed from the original suit. “Reynolds and Lively exploited Lively’s false insinuations to coerce the Wayfarer Parties to cede to them power and authority to which they were not entitled,” it states, according to Deadline.
It is likely that “to cede power and authority” refers to reports that Lively had made her own edit to a pivotal rooftop scene in the film. Text messages included in Baldoni’s suit appear to show a conversation between the two about these changes.
“I really love what you did. It really does help a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor),” Baldoni said in one message, adding a wink emoji. “You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to do this together.”
Taylor likely refers to Taylor Swift, a longtime friend of Lively.
A leaked voice memo from late January also appears to show Baldoni apologising to Lively for his reaction to her edits.
“Man, reading the second part of your message, my heart sank and I’m really sorry. I, for sure, fell short and you worked really hard on that,” Baldoni said in the voice note obtained by TMZ.
“I feel really grateful that you feel safe enough to tell me that that’s how you feel and share that with me. And I’m really sorry. I f***ed up. That is a fail on my part.”
The new memorandum claims that “Reynolds and Lively, along with the Sloane Parties, engaged in a coordinated effort to exaggerate benign interactions in service of a false narrative that Lively had been sexually harassed. They did so to instill terror in the Wayfarer Parties and leverage it to accumulate power”.
“Sloane parties” refers to Leslie Sloane, publicist for Lively and Reynolds, who has also requested to be removed from the suit.
Sloane’s lawyer has alleged she was dragged” into a “smoke and mirrors exercise” by Baldoni’s team “to distract from their own sexual harassment and systematic retaliation”.
“Reynolds also knew that the ‘smear campaign’ narrative was false or acted with reckless disregard for its truth,” the memo continues.
“Along with his co-conspirators, Reynolds got hold of communications between the Wayfarer Parties from Stephanie Jones that disproved the claim the Wayfarer Parties had orchestrated a smear campaign.
“Given that they had these materials, Reynolds, Lively and the Sloane Parties either knew the narrative they later publicised was false or, at best, disregarded evidence. It also would have been clear to Reynolds — who owns a marketing company — that the cause of Lively’s bad press was her decision to hawk liquor and hair care products while promoting a film about domestic violence.”
In August last year, rumours of a feud between Lively and Baldoni began circulating on social media as fans noticed them avoiding each other during the promotion cycle of It Ends with Us.
Reports emerged that there was “fat shaming” and inappropriate comments on set as well as issues caused by Lively and Reynolds being too involved with the film.
Around the same time, Baldoni hired crisis management professional Melissa Nathan, whose previous clients have included Johnny Depp and Drake. Nathan represented Depp during his successful defamation trial against Amber Heard.
Lively faced intense criticism of her allegedly “tone-deaf” approach to the film’s marketing as she promoted her new haircare line and encouraged cinemagoers to “bring their florals”, avoiding any explicit mention of the film’s central theme of domestic violence.
Representatives for Reynolds dismissed Baldoni’s newly filed memorandum.
“The main takeaway from the Wayfarer Parties’ opposition to Ryan’s motion to dismiss their case is that they finally realise the plain defects in their complaint,” a spokesperson for Reynolds told Deadline.
“They once again claim defamation without alleging who was defamed, what specifically was said, or how anyone suffered actual harm. Unlike Mr Baldoni, who built his brand pretending to be a man who is ‘confident enough to listen’ to the women in his life, Ryan Reynolds actually is that man and he will continue to support his wife as she stands up to the individuals who not only harassed her but then have retaliated against her.
“Under New York law, California law, and indeed in every jurisdiction of the United States this lawsuit not only fails but may result in the Wayfarer Parties covering Ryan’s costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing such a frivolous case in the first place.”
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Reynolds, Lively and Baldoni for comment.
In January, a New York federal judge informed both parties to prepare for a trial in March 2026. Attorneys for Lively and Reynold then filed a notice stating that they would seek to dismiss Baldoni’s countersuit.
It Ends with Us, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel which begins as a romance but takes a dark turn into domestic violence, was released in August, exceeding box office expectations with a $50m debut.
The film opened to mixed reviews, with The Independent film critic Clarisse Loughrey delivering a two-star verdict, writing: “This tale of a dramatic love triangle between characters named Lily Bloom, Atlas Corrigan and Ryle Kincaid can’t square its violent themes with its inherent silliness.”
The film’s release was shrouded by speculation about a discord between Lively and Baldoni, with Hoover distancing herself from the controversy.
Lively’s suit against Baldoni states that there was a meeting attended by individuals, including Lively, Reynolds, Baldoni and their lawyers, to address her claims that she was sexually harassed on set.
Lively had a number of requirements in order for her to work on the film that included “no more inquiries about Blake’s weight” as well as “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia”.
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