Justin Baldoni's Biggest Bombshell Claims in Blake Lively Lawsuit: 'Pressure' from Taylor Swift, Premiere Drama and More

Mar. 15, 2025

Justin Baldoni; Blake Lively.Photo:Dia Dipasupil/Getty; UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTSOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK; Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Dia Dipasupil/Getty; UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTSOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK; Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Justin Baldoniis firing back with allegations of his own in the heated legal battle withBlake Lively.

After months of speculation of a rift behind the scenes of their hit filmIt Ends With Us, Lively, 37, came forward with allegations ofsexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign when she fileda complaint in December.

About the lawsuit, which alleged extortion and defamation, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said it is based on “an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence” and suggested “this is a battle [Lively] will not win and will certainly regret.” They allege in Baldoni’s complaint that Lively and Reynolds went on a mission to “destroy” Baldoni’s reputation and career after “hijacking” the film.

The actress' lawyers responded with a statement of their own,calling the “meritless” lawsuit “another chapter in the abuser playbook.” They added, in part, “The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”

Read on for some of the biggest bombshell claims featured within Baldoni’s 179-page complaint.

Blake Lively on Aug. 8, 2024.Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images

Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images

Blake Lively Allegedly Didn’t Read the Book, Causing Creative Clashes

Justin Baldoni; Blake Lively; Ryan Reynolds; Taylor Swift.John Nacion/Variety via Getty; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

John Nacion/Variety via Getty; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds Allegedly Pressured Justin Baldoni

Baldoni’s complaint claims Lively began “asserting” control over the film, “inserting herself into the production process in intrusive ways.” His complaint describes Lively as “difficult” and claims her “interference would persist ‘every day of the shoot’ and disrupt” the schedule.

Lively even enlisted husband Reynolds and best friendTaylor Swift to back her vision for the film and “pressure” Baldoni into deferring to her, his complaint alleges. In an alleged text,Lively compared herself to theGame of Thronescharacter Khaleesiand said Reynolds and Swift are her “dragons” who support her. They are “embarrassingly effusive,” she allegedly wrote of the two, also calling them her “stage moms.”

Writes Baldoni’s legal team in his complaint: “Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.”

Alleged text message from Blake Lively to Justin Baldoni from April 2023.UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTSOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTSOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

Lively, who earned a producer credit for It Ends With Us,told Digital Spyin August that she is “passionate” and gets involved in departments of a production “outside of the acting.” She added at the time, “I felt so grateful to have that level of authorship and involvement.”

Justin Baldoni in “It Ends With Us”.Nicole Rivelli

Nicole Rivelli

Blake Lively Allegedly Joked Justin Baldoni Needed a Nose Job

The actress — who, in her complaint, accused Baldoni of body-shaming her postpartum appearance during filming, which he denies —allegedly told her costar that he should get a nose job, according to Baldoni’s complaint.

Baldoni’s complaint says theJane the Virginalum has “publicly expressed insecurities” about his nose and that her “derogatory” comment about his face is “also captured on camera.” The complaint adds, “Baldoni, rather than write down a list of grievances against Lively, brushed it off and moved on with the scene.”

In an alleged text message from February 2023, Lively told Baldoni she wanted to get “fit” and look “bangin'” since the movie “requires a certain aesthetic” from the actors to make it “commercially” viable.

Her lawyers said in their statement after his lawsuit, “Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing. In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim.”

Colleen Hoover and Blake Lively inside the premiere on Aug. 6, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Eric Charbonneau/Getty

In her previous complaint, she addressed that backlash, saying the distributor Sony developed a marketing plan, which everyone supposedly agreed to, that would focus “strength and resilience asopposed to describing the film as a story about domestic violence.” They wanted to “avoid talking about this film” as “sad or heavy.”

Baldoni, who plays Ryle Kincaid in the film, and his company Wayfarer Studios arranged for a separate afterparty for his guests, which was a “dry gathering, in part to acknowledge the known negative relationship between alcohol and domestic violence.”

Justin Baldoni with guests in the ‘basement’ at the Aug. 6, 2024 premiere.UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTSOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

Justin Baldoni Claims He Was Confined to the Basement During Film Premiere

At the New York City premiere held Aug. 6 at the AMC Lincoln Square, Baldoni was kept separate from the majority of the cast, including Lively, who posed for photos with Reynolds and her costars.

Lively allegedly “demanded” that Baldoni wouldn’t be allowed to attend the premiere event, according to his complaint, ultimately being convinced to compromise and permit him to attend under the “demeaning and humiliating conditions.”

Colleen Hoover, Brandon Sklenar, Isabela Ferrer and Blake Lively on June 15, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Blake Lively Allegedly Influenced the Cast to ‘Shun’ Justin Baldoni

Baldoni alleges in his complaint that Lively “induced the other cast members to shun” himto “give fans the impression that Baldoni had committed an egregious sin, something so egregious that no one wanted to even take photos with him or have him around.”

In their statement about his lawsuit, Lively’s lawyers said his legal team is “falsely claiming” that she was the one who “alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni.” They added, “The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer.”

Blake Lively and Jenny Slate on Aug. 6, 2024.John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images

John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images

Additionally, Brandon Sklenarurged fansto read Lively’s Dec. 20 complaint in full in a supportive social media post. Hooveraddressed Livelyon social media as well, writing, “you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met."

Costar Hasan Minhaj toldEsquirein September he was unaware of any behind-the-scenes rifts: “I can’t speak to other people’s experience, buteverybody was very professional and cool to me. It was lovely and everybody was lovely, and it is just as disillusioning for me, because I’m like, ‘What happened? Wait, what’s going on?’ " The comedian presented an award to Baldoni in December that has since been rescinded.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds on July 22, 2024.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Allegedly Demanded Justin Baldoni Issue Public Apology

Baldoni claims in his complaint that Lively and Reynolds “threatened” him to “take the fall” and be their “scapegoat” when she faced negative attention duringIt Ends With Usscrutiny upon its release in August 2024. According to his complaint, the A-lister couple “dictated” a public statement to put out that had Baldoni and his team “acknowledge and own their ‘mistakes’ and ‘own’ all negativity being aimed at Reynolds and Lively.”

Justin Baldoni on Aug. 6, 2024.John Nacion/Variety via Getty

John Nacion/Variety via Getty

Lively, for her part, has alleged in a complaint that Baldoni hired crisis PR to launch a retaliatory smear campaign after she came forward with on-set misconduct claims.

The actress' lawyers said in their statement about Baldoni’s lawsuit, “This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.”

They suggested that Baldoni’s legal strategy has been to “threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”

source: people.com