Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios acquired the rights to It Ends With Us in 2019, aiming to create a film with a meaningful social impact, particularly addressing domestic violence. Baldoni, known for films like Five Feet Apart and Clouds, was personally invested in the project. Sony co-financed and agreed to donate 1% of the film’s proceeds to domestic abuse survivors.

Blake Lively was cast as the lead, Lily Bloom, and given an executive producer credit. Initially, Baldoni and Lively shared a positive working relationship, but tensions soon arose. Lively began asserting creative control beyond her contractual role, particularly over wardrobe, causing budget overruns and production delays. After paparazzi photos of her character’s wardrobe were criticized, Sony intervened, leading to conflicts between Baldoni and Lively.

Lively also sought control over the script, rewriting key scenes and pressuring Baldoni to accept her changes, often using her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and other celebrity influence to support her vision. She later revealed Reynolds had secretly rewritten a pivotal rooftop scene, which raised concerns at Sony. Additionally, Lively and Reynolds falsely accused Baldoni of fat-shaming when he inquired about Lively’s weight for a lift scene to avoid injury. This confrontation forced Baldoni to apologize and ultimately remove the scene from the film.

Lively’s growing influence over the production led to increasing conflicts, and she eventually issued an ultimatum: either Baldoni accept her demands or recast her within two weeks. Faced with the potential destruction of his reputation, Baldoni complied. The film’s production became dominated by Lively’s control, causing significant disruptions and undermining Baldoni’s directorial authority.

As principal photography for It Ends With Us began in May 2023, Blake Lively continued to present a warm and appreciative relationship with Justin Baldoni while simultaneously asserting increasing control over the production. She frequently rewrote her own dialogue and altered other characters’ lines, causing disruptions and delays. She also insisted on making her character “sexier” and took control of wardrobe decisions.

During the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Lively requested access to raw footage (“dailies”) and early scene cuts—an unusual demand that producers feared would lead to her taking over editing. When the strikes ended in November 2023, rather than returning to set as expected, Lively’s lawyers issued a 17-point list of non-negotiable conditions, which subtly implied allegations of misconduct against Baldoni and the production team.

Several of Lively’s demands, such as having an intimacy coordinator and limiting review of intimate scene footage, were already industry-standard practices. However, she falsely claimed there was no intimacy coordinator and misrepresented the nature of certain scenes, including a birthing scene where she alleged inappropriate exposure. In reality, she was wearing proper clothing, and only essential personnel were present.

Lively also falsely accused Baldoni of adding “graphic content” to the script, including an orgasm scene, when in fact it was suggested by the intimacy coordinator and ultimately removed. Additionally, Lively frequently broke character during filming, disrupted scenes, and even initiated unchoreographed kisses with Baldoni—contradicting her later claims of impropriety.

Throughout the production, Lively exerted increasing control, rewriting scenes, ignoring direction, and leveraging her star power and legal threats to gain dominance over the film. Baldoni and the production team accommodated her demands to avoid reputational damage, financial losses, and further disruptions. Lively’s eventual legal allegations of harassment and misconduct were contradicted by documented evidence, including filmed footage of her initiating certain actions she later claimed were inappropriate.

As It Ends With Us entered its final production phases, Blake Lively escalated her control over the film through increasingly restrictive demands, many based on false or misleading allegations against director Justin Baldoni and the production team.

Lively’s 17-point list of demands, issued in November 2023, included bans on physical contact, comments on her appearance, and discussions about sex or nudity—despite evidence showing she herself initiated personal conversations and physical interactions on set. Many of her claims were contradicted by documented film footage, including her misleading assertion that she was filmed “nearly nude” during a birthing scene. She also falsely suggested that she was exposed to inappropriate content on set when, in reality, she was briefly shown an image from a home birth video at her request.

Despite already having an approved SAG-AFTRA Nudity Rider, Lively refused to sign it before filming began, delaying production. She also demanded access to script changes and raw footage, which producers feared would allow her to take over the entire editing process.

When the SAG-AFTRA strike ended, rather than returning to set, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds orchestrated a hostile meeting with Baldoni and the producers at their home on January 4, 2024. During this ambush, Reynolds aggressively berated Baldoni over fabricated grievances, leaving industry veterans stunned at his behavior. Following this encounter, Baldoni felt forced to surrender creative control of the film to Lively, allowing her to rewrite the script and direct key scenes.

Despite this turmoil, production resumed on January 5, 2024, and concluded on February 9, 2024, without further disputes. Lively later falsely suggested the team had agreed to a list of “30 grievances”, when in reality, only the 17 original demands were presented and signed weeks after the ambush.

Ultimately, Lively and Reynolds manipulated the production process, weaponized false accusations against Baldoni, and exploited their star power to dominate the film, leaving Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios feeling powerless.

Blake Lively completely usurped control of It Ends With Us, ultimately sidelining director Justin Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.

Lively’s Takeover of the Film:

• Editing Control: Lively violated the Directors’ Guild of America (DGA) rule guaranteeing Baldoni a 10-week exclusive editing period. Initially granted access for just two days, she extended her influence to ten days, then demanded full control. She insisted on her own cut, replacing the film’s editors and composer with those used by her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
• Sony’s Capitulation: Fearing Lively’s threats to withhold promotion, Sony allowed an unprecedented test screening of both Baldoni’s and Lively’s versions. Baldoni’s cut tested significantly higher, yet Lively refused to step aside, forcing her version to be released.
• Marketing Manipulation: Lively erased Baldoni from promotional materials, ensuring his exclusion from posters, trailers, and press events. She also prevented him from attending Book Bonanza, a key event for the film’s release.

Premiere and Humiliation of Baldoni:

• Banned from Key Events: Lively threatened to boycott the premiere if Baldoni attended, coercing Sony to relegate him and Wayfarer’s team to a separate theater. They were forbidden from the main event, escorted by security, and excluded from the official after-party.
• Final Betrayal: Lively demanded a producer credit, then sought the prestigious p.g.a. mark—a distinction for producers who do actual production work. Baldoni and Wayfarer refused to falsely endorse her, prompting Lively to declare all goodwill between them was “done.” Under duress, Wayfarer eventually signed the letter of support.

Lively’s Marketing Disaster and Backlash:

• Tone-Deaf Promotion: Lively focused on fashion and her personal brands (Blake Brown haircare, Betty Booze alcohol) instead of the film’s domestic violence themes. Social media and mainstream media blasted her for trivializing domestic abuse, a PR disaster of her own making.
• Failed Smear Campaign: In an attempt to shift blame, Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, launched a smear campaign against Baldoni. However, leaked emails revealed Lively had orchestrated media attacks against him long before the film’s release.

Sloane’s Smear Campaign Against Baldoni

• Blake Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, orchestrated a smear campaign to shift blame away from Lively’s set behavior and onto Justin Baldoni.
• Sloane secretly fed false stories to the Daily Mail, claiming the entire cast disliked Baldoni, manipulating the media narrative.
• She even went as far as falsely implying Lively was “sexually assaulted”, a claim Lively herself had never made.

Stephanie Jones’ Betrayal

• Former Wayfarer and Baldoni publicist Stephanie Jones became a key ally in Lively’s campaign.
• Jones had a history of abusive workplace behavior, leading to major Hollywood clients dropping her.
• As Jones’ reputation crumbled, she sought to align herself with Lively and Sony, hoping to save face.
• She leaked negative stories about Baldoni, violated PR agreements, and ignored Wayfarer’s crisis strategy, nearly escalating tensions between Lively and Baldoni’s teams.
• Jones was ultimately sidelined, but retaliated by fabricating claims that Baldoni was running a smear campaign.

Jones’ Downfall and Power Struggle

• After abruptly losing multiple high-profile clients (Dwayne Johnson, Jeff Bezos, Chris Hemsworth), Jones became erratic.
• She mistreated employees, spread false rumors about staff, and hired security to intimidate her departing right-hand, Jen Abel.
• Abel was locked out of her accounts and phone, causing her to lose access to personal and financial data.
• Jones’ erratic behavior fueled her vendetta against Baldoni and Wayfarer, leading her to actively work against them.

Final Backstabbing Attempt

• Jones falsely claimed Baldoni’s team broke a truce with Lively’s team, causing Sony to panic.
• She then proposed an aggressive PR strategy to flood the media with counter-narratives, but Wayfarer and Baldoni had already lost trust in her.
• In August 2024, Jones severed ties with Baldoni and Wayfarer, aligning herself fully with Lively and Sony in an effort to salvage her own reputation.

Lively’s and Reynolds’ Alleged Extortion and Smear Campaign

• Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds allegedly threatened Wayfarer Studios, Justin Baldoni, and others with reputational damage unless they took public responsibility for the film’s troubled production.
• They allegedly demanded a false apology from Wayfarer and Baldoni, blaming them for Lively’s negative press. When they refused, Lively and Reynolds allegedly escalated attacks against them.
• Lively’s PR team (Leslie Sloane) and former Wayfarer publicist Stephanie Jones allegedly collaborated to leak false and misleading information to major news outlets, including The New York Times.

Lively’s and Jones’ Alleged Retaliation and Media Manipulation

• Stephanie Jones, after being dropped by Wayfarer, allegedly leaked private communications of former deputy Jennifer Abel to Lively’s team.
• These messages were allegedly cherry-picked and manipulated to fabricate a narrative that Baldoni and his team had launched a smear campaign against Lively.
• The New York Times published an exposé titled “Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” portraying Baldoni as orchestrating a revenge plot against Lively.
• The lawsuit alleges Lively provided distorted evidence to the Times, omitting key context and even emojis, to mislead the public into believing she was a victim of a smear campaign.

Allegations of Civil Extortion and Defamation

• Wayfarer, Baldoni, and others claim Lively and Reynolds engaged in civil extortion, demanding concessions and creative control over It Ends With Us under threats of reputational destruction.
• They also claim defamation, alleging that Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, and Vision PR knowingly spread false information about sexual misconduct on set.
• Baldoni was allegedly blacklisted from industry events, excluded from the film’s promotion, and falsely accused of misconduct, leading to major career and reputational damages.

Interference with Contracts and Economic Harm

• Lively and Reynolds allegedly interfered with Baldoni’s and Wayfarer’s contracts, pressuring talent agencies like WME to sever ties.
• As a result, the plaintiffs claim severe financial losses, reputational harm, and loss of future business opportunities.

Legal Demands

• Plaintiffs are seeking $400 million in damages for lost earnings, emotional distress, and reputational damage.
• Punitive damages are sought for alleged malicious and fraudulent conduct.
• The plaintiffs demand a jury trial to hold Lively, Reynolds, and their team accountable.