Justin Baldoni claims Blake Lively used Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds to push him into changing script
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Justin Baldoni, director and star of 'It Ends With Us', has filed a $400 million lawsuit alleging undue pressure from Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, and Ryan Reynolds regarding the film's creative decisions.
Baldoni's lawsuit comes amid ongoing tensions after Lively filed a separate complaint against him, accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation, People reported.
Justin Baldoni files $400M lawsuit alleging celebrity influence
Baldoni’s 179-page complaint, filed on Thursday, January 16, alleges that Swift and Reynolds backed Lively’s proposed rewrites to the script, including a pivotal rooftop scene. The screenplay, adapted by Christy Hall from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, had been approved in pre-production, but Baldoni claims Lively’s revisions “dramatically” altered the tone and narrative of the scene.
According to the lawsuit, Lively, who starred in the movie as Lily Bloom, requested to rewrite the rooftop scene where her character first meets Baldoni’s Ryle Kincaid. Baldoni was "reluctant" to allow her to "rewrite this key scene, but ultimately "agreed to take a look at what she put together."
Baldoni asserts that his take on the script was "dramatically" different from its initial version. Following his "exceedingly mild resistance," Lively allegedly went unresponsive for several days before sending a text expressing that his reaction to her rewrite "didn’t feel great for me."
Baldoni also claims her dissatisfaction extended to Reynolds and "another megacelebrity friend."
The complaint details a meeting at Reynolds and Lively’s New York penthouse, where Swift reportedly praised Lively’s script revisions. Baldoni claims he felt implicit pressure to accept the changes.
A text exchange included in the filing shows Baldoni attempting to express support for Lively’s changes, saying they made the scene “fun and interesting,” but adding that he would have appreciated them without external persuasion.
Lively’s alleged response included a comparison to 'Game of Thrones' character Khaleesi, dubbing Swift and Reynolds her “dragons” who fiercely advocate for her.
In another purported text cited in the filing, Lively reportedly described Reynolds, her husband since 2012 and father of their four children, along with Swift, as her "Dance Moms level stage moms."
Taylor Swift's song 'My Tears Ricochet' is featured prominently in 'It Ends With Us' movie and trailer. During the New York City premiere on August 6, Blake Lively revealed to E! News a little-known detail, "The iconic rooftop scene? My husband actually wrote it. Nobody knows that but you now."
Lively, who also earned her first executive producer credit on the film, has previously spoken about her hands-on approach.
In an interview last August, she said, "When you work with me, I’m very passionate, so I love getting involved. I used to be insecure about this, and now I’m proud of it. The work I did as an actor on this film pales in comparison to the work that I did outside of the acting. It was very minimal compared to everything else."
Lively shared at the time, "I felt so grateful to have that level of authorship and involvement. It makes me that much more proud of the film."
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively embroiled in legal battle
The on-set tensions between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively during the production of 'It Ends With Us' have escalated into a full-blown legal battle, with serious allegations and lawsuits now dominating headlines.
In late December, Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. She also alleged that Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign intended to tarnish her reputation during the movie’s promotional rollout.
Baldoni has since responded by filing a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, Baldoni claims the publication misrepresented his communications in its coverage of Lively’s allegations. His legal team described the article as relying on "cherry-picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead."
Earlier this week, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman announced plans to unveil evidence purportedly highlighting a "pattern of bullying" by Lively.
“None of this will come as a surprise,” Freedman told People. “Consistent with her past behavior, Blake Lively used other people to communicate those threats and bully her way to get whatever she wanted. We have all the receipts and more.”
The dispute comes after reports of mounting friction on the set of 'It Ends With Us', which stars both Lively and Baldoni in leading roles. Since production began, the project had been plagued by controversies, with the legal battle between its stars overshadowing the movie.
