Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in a scene from It Ends With Us. (Sony Pictures/AP Photo)
The escalating public and legal conflict between Blake Lively and her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni has taken another dramatic turn. On Monday, a New York federal judge, Lewis J. Liman, scheduled a trial for March 9, 2026, while moving an initial conference originally set for mid-February to the following week. The decision comes as tensions between the two actors continue to mount over allegations and counterclaims tied to the film’s release and subsequent fallout.
In a new twist to the legal saga, Lively filed a request in Texas for a deposition against Jed Wallace, a crisis management specialist she accuses of spearheading an online campaign that turned public sentiment against her during the film’s release. The filing alleges that Wallace and his firm, Street Relations, were hired as subcontractors by Baldoni’s publicists and used social media platforms such as Reddit and TikTok to disseminate disparaging content. Although Wallace is named in Lively’s federal lawsuit, he has not been listed as a defendant.
Judge Liman's actions on Monday reflect growing concerns about pretrial publicity and attorney conduct. Lively's legal team accused Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, of attempting to influence potential jurors by creating a website that selectively publishes communications between the two actors. Lively’s lawyers condemned the move as a deliberate effort to damage her reputation, arguing that it could compromise the integrity of the trial.
“This extrajudicial campaign to influence public perception and these proceedings is deeply concerning,” Lively’s lawyers wrote in their filing. “The continuous stream of defamatory media statements must stop to ensure a fair trial.”
Freedman, however, countered these claims in a statement, suggesting that Lively was trying to suppress the truth. “The irony is not lost on anyone that Ms. Lively is so petrified of the truth that she has moved to gag it,” he stated. “We will always respect the court but will not be bullied into silence when the facts clearly contradict her allegations.”
The feud has led to heated exchanges on both sides. Baldoni’s legal team accused Lively of running a “scorched-earth media campaign” that has caused significant reputational and financial harm, amounting to “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Meanwhile, Lively's lawsuit, filed in late December, accuses Baldoni and his production company of sexual harassment and defamation. Baldoni responded with a countersuit, alleging defamation and extortion by Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, and seeking $400 million in damages.
The legal battle has cast a shadow over It Ends With Us, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. Despite the controversy, the movie premiered in August 2024, earning an impressive $50 million in its debut weekend. However, rumors of tension between Lively and Baldoni during production dominated headlines, overshadowing the film's success.
Both actors are prominent figures in Hollywood. Lively rose to fame with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and the hit TV series Gossip Girl, while Baldoni is known for his work in Jane the Virgin and as the director of Five Feet Apart. With a trial on the horizon and new legal developments unfolding, the dispute between the two shows no sign of slowing down.
