Blake Lively's legal war against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni is coming to a head this month. The 38-year-old actress will present her case inside a New York City courtroom, aiming to prove that Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios, tried to ruin her reputation after the two fell out while making the 2024 romantic drama.
What's at Stake in the Trial?
After a judge dismissed 10 of her 13 claims last month, including harassment, defamation, and conspiracy allegations, Lively's lawyers will be allowed to present evidence that Baldoni attempted to destroy her reputation. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Lively's assertions that Baldoni flouted intimacy protocols on set, stating that the two were working on a movie where intimacy was required. In response, Lively's legal team emphasized that the case will focus on how Baldoni tried to sabotage her standing in Hollywood.
Sigrid McCawley, Lively's attorney, stated in a release shared with PEOPLE and NBC News: "This case has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively's reputation because she stood up for safety on the set, and that is the case that is going to trial."
How Much Income Has Lively Claimed She Lost?
According to Fox News, Lively estimates that Baldoni's descriptions of her as a "bully" cost her nearly $300 million in lost income. In court documents seen by Fox, the mother-of-four alleges that Baldoni's characterization of her affected her ability to attract roles in major studio films, smaller projects, and TV shows. Her attorneys estimate her lost earnings between $34.3 million and $87.8 million. Lively also claims that her beauty brand, Blake Brown, and her line of canned cocktails have suffered losses ranging from $39.6 million to $143.5 million.
Searches associating her with terms like "mean girl" generated more than 176 million impressions across online and traditional media, Fox reported. That damage has cost her $40 million, Lively says. The "pain and suffering, physical pain, and humiliation" she claims to have endured is priced between $250,000 and $400,000.
Baldoni's Defense and Lively's Legal Strategy
Baldoni's lawyers plan to argue that Lively's monetary losses are inflated estimates and assert that her "mean girl" reputation was "widely circulated" before the two worked together. As rumors of behind-the-scenes drama dogged Lively and Baldoni before the release of It Ends With Us in summer 2024, journalist Kjersti Flaa shared a clip of an interview she had with Lively in 2016, titled "The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job." The segment has garnered more than 7.4 million views on YouTube. Flaa told the Daily Mail that she felt "belittled and ignored" during the interview. According to PEOPLE, Lively's lawyers are attempting to block Flaa from testifying after Baldoni's representatives named her as a potential witness.
Lively Risks Becoming a 'Pariah' Like Amber Heard
Lively has a lot to lose as the case inches closer to trial. Jordan Matthews of Holtz Matthews LLP told Fox: "The worst-case scenario for Blake Lively is that she goes to trial, and the jury reaches a verdict completely exonerating Baldoni, deciding that he never retaliated against her. It could essentially put her in the same category as Amber Heard, and she could be viewed as a pariah. If she and Baldoni both testify, then this will largely come down to witness credibility and how effective each of their legal teams are at cross-examination."
Fran Weinstein, a director at Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, told NewsNation: "At the moment, I believe that Blake is persona non grata. They don't want to go near that fire for a while." Matthew Pfau, partner at H&P Law, said in a statement shared with Postmedia last year that the stakes are high for both Lively and Baldoni. "Blake Lively has long maintained a positive public image... she could face reputational damage depending on the outcome," Pfau said. Baldoni, too, "could face difficulties securing future projects depending on the outcome."
In a message shared with her more than 41 million Instagram followers earlier this month, Lively called it "a privilege to be able to stand up" for herself and declared she "will not waste it." She wrote: "The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I brought this case because of the pervasive RETALIATION I faced, and continue to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others." She said the support of her fans keeps her going. "The physical pain from digital violence is very real. It is abuse. And it's everywhere... my claims won't be the first or last time you'll see examples of the extreme dangers of retaliation and digital warfare."
What Has Ryan Reynolds Said About the Case?
Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, offered rare comments on the case when he sat down with NBC's Willie Geist for a segment on his Sunday sitdown. He said: "Really, without getting into too much, I have never in my life been more proud of my wife. I've never in my life been more proud of someone with that level of integrity that brings that with them, carries that with them in everything that they do... People have no idea what's really going on."
Reynolds and Baldoni have been embroiled in their own war of words. Netizens theorized that Reynolds mocked Baldoni's attempts to cultivate a feminist image with the creation of his Nicepool character in Deadpool & Wolverine. Among her earlier complaints, Lively alleged that Baldoni criticized her weight. In response, Baldoni has accused Reynolds of trying to leverage his power in Hollywood. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Baldoni alleges that Reynolds and Lively tried to pressure their agency, WME, to drop him as a client. But the agency shut down those claims, stating: "Baldoni's former representative was not at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client."
As the case moves closer to trial, private texts between Lively and her friend Taylor Swift have been dragged into the open. According to court docs obtained by Page Six in January, Lively referred to Baldoni as the "doofus director of my movie" in a message with the pop star. In another message, Swift was referred to as "the world's absolute greatest friend" after endorsing Lively's script revisions, and Baldoni was described as a "clown." Lively also reached out to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck while It Ends With Us was in its finishing stages for their feedback on the film. In one text to Damon, obtained by Entertainment Weekly, Lively said "this movie nearly killed me" and mocked Baldoni for having "zero experience." Meanwhile, in an email to Affleck, Lively called the making of It Ends With Us "the most upsetting experience I've ever had on a movie" and referred to Baldoni as a "chaotic clown."
In another email exchange, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Reynolds urged Damon and his wife, Lucy, to watch Lively's cut of the film. Reynolds wrote: "This movie has been one of the all time zingers on and off set. One day, we'll make a movie about the movie. And we can't wait to tell you all about it. The stories are already finding their place in the pantheon of legendary Hollywood Insanity." Reynolds also alleged that Baldoni asked how much his wife weighed before filming a scene in It Ends With Us. "Several weeks before shooting, and right after Blake had given birth to our son... this guy called our trainer, Don and asked, 'How much do you think Blake will weigh in two weeks?'" Reynolds recounted. "He said, 'I'm only asking because I have to carry her in a scene. And I have low bone density.'" Reynolds also described Baldoni as a "sociopathic FAUXminist with almost no sense of boundaries or shame."
The trial is scheduled to begin May 18 in New York City.
