The drama surrounding the production of It Ends With Us just got even messier, with new claims that director Justin Baldoni’s religious beliefs may have played a significant role in the on-set tension.
According to a recent feature in The Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni’s devotion to the Baha’i faith was a noticeable presence during filming. From leading prayers on the first day of production to frequently “asking God for guidance” before making creative decisions, Baldoni’s approach reportedly left some cast and crew members feeling uncomfortable.
“He did talk about his religion a lot,” one source who worked with Baldoni on a previous project said to The Hollywood Reporter.
“This had shades of Scientology but with less of the prominence and people hovering at all times.”
The Baha’i faith, which promotes unity, equality, and the elimination of prejudice, is central to Baldoni’s life. But its influence on set reportedly raised eyebrows. For example, sources claim there was an unusual amount of physical contact between crew members— lots of hugging — which some found unsettling.
“The faith’s principles and ideas are interpreted and accepted in a variety of cultural contexts,” said Zackery Heern, a professor specialising in Baha’i history at Idaho State University to THR.
“In France, followers might be more inclined to hug. In Saudi Arabia, less so.”
According to Blake Lively‘s complaint, she became “alarmed” when Baldoni cast his “best friend”, Adam Mondschein, in a key scene where Lively’s character gives birth. THR points out that Mondschein is reportedly a member of the Baha’i community.
According to THR, her concerns were heightened by Baldoni allegedly telling her he could “speak to the dead” and that he’d communicated with her late father.
Heern weighed in on this claim, saying that while belief in the afterlife is central to the faith, speaking to the dead is “not encouraged” and is considered “a bit fringe for Baha’i”.
Lively’s discomfort with these incidents formed part of her December 2024 lawsuit against Baldoni, which accused him of creating a hostile work environment through inappropriate behaviour. While her suit doesn’t explicitly mention the Baha’i faith, it does allege that Baldoni’s actions, like constant hugging and touching, left her feeling uneasy.
On top of this, tensions boiled over when production resumed after a six-month pause during the Writers Guild of America strike. At a January 2024 meeting with Wayfarer Studios (Baldoni’s production company), Sony executives, Lively, and her husband Ryan Reynolds, Lively reportedly threatened to quit unless Baldoni and his producing partner Jamey Heath agreed to 30 demands addressing unprofessional conduct on set.
“He never should have signed off on that,” said one source close to Baldoni.
“But if you look at the statement, it doesn’t say, ‘I will stop doing these things.’ It says, ‘I won’t do this.’ There’s a big difference.”
Both Lively and Baldoni have filed lawsuits against each other. Lively has accused him of harassment and unprofessional behaviour, while Baldoni has hit back with defamation claims against Lively, Reynolds, and even The New York Times.
The article suggests that industry insiders are divided over what all this means. Some see it as yet another chapter in Hollywood’s ongoing conversation about workplace equality. Others suggest it might be more about cultural misunderstandings between Baldoni’s faith-driven approach and modern Hollywood norms.
One source who worked with Baldoni on Five Feet Apart noted his unique directorial style: “I’ve never worked with a male director who was so worried about everyone’s emotional and mental well-being… But if you get a bunch of Teamsters together who are told that they should share their feelings, of course someone is going to ask, ‘Why is he such a freak?’”
Still, not everyone saw his methods as positive. A female executive who met with Wayfarer Studios described feeling uncomfortable when asked to share something personal during a meeting: “In my head I was like, ‘I’m sorry, are we at Café fucking Gratitude?’”
“Why are you imposing your culture on this meeting that’s being held at our offices? I can’t explain exactly why, but it made me so uncomfortable.”
Whether this case becomes part of Hollywood’s larger reckoning with power dynamics or boils down to cultural clashes remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: this controversy isn’t going away anytime soon.
A trial date between Baldoni and Livehas been set for March 2026.
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