Blake Lively has claimed that her four children, who she shares with husband Ryan Reynolds, are “traumatized” by the ongoing drama surrounding her and Justin Baldoni.
The 37-year-old actor filed an amended complaint in a New York federal court on Tuesday amid her ongoing legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star. In December, Lively first sued for sexual harassment and accused Baldoni of orchestrating a campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
The new court document, obtained by The Independent, addressed some of the backlash Lively received last summer due to Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign,
The “emotional impact” of the online scrutiny has been “extreme” for Lively and also Reynolds and their four children — James, 10, Inez, eight, Betty, five, and Olin, two — the amendment claims.
“There are days when she has struggled to get out of bed, and she frequently chooses not to venture outside in public,” the document reads. “While she has fought to maintain her personal life and business interests, behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.”
The filing adds that Reynolds has “been affected mentally, physically, and professionally by his wife’s and children’s pain.
“Worst of all, however, has been the impact on their young children, who have been traumatized and emotionally uprooted in ways that have substantially impacted their well-being.”
Elsewhere in the amended complaint, the Gossip Girl star claimed she was not the only woman Baldoni made uncomfortable on the set of It Ends with Us. She alleges that other women are willing to corroborate her original claims of harassment in court.
Though the women are unnamed, the document states that they have “given Ms. Lively permission to share the substance of their communications” and “they will testify and produce responsive documents in the discovery process.”
“The experiences of Ms. Lively and others were documented at the time they occurred starting in May of 2023,” the document continues. “Importantly, and contrary to the entire narrative Defendants have invented, Mr. Baldoni acknowledged the complaints in writing at the time.”
Rumors of a feud between Baldoni and Lively on the set of It Ends with Us — based on the Colleen Hoover book of the same name — started percolating online last year, as they appeared to avoid each other during the film’s promotional tour.
At the time, Lively was called out for a “tone-deaf” approach to the movie, with fans claiming she failed to treat its heavy subject matter with the appropriate solemnity. In the lawsuit against Baldoni, filed in December, Lively alleged that the backlash she received was part of a carefully orchestrated effort by Baldoni’s PR team.
The Jane the Virgin alum is suing The New York Times for $250 million, and he is counter-suing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for $400 million. The lawsuit against the couple alleges that they’re attempting to “destroy” Baldoni’s reputation and career.
In January, a New York federal judge informed both parties to prepare for a trial in March 2026. After this, Lively and Reynolds’ attorneys filed a notice stating that they would seek to dismiss Baldoni’s counter-lawsuit.
