Justin Baldoni Alleges Defamation, Sues Blake Lively And Ryan Reynolds For $400M

Justin Baldoni has filed a lawsuit against his It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, seeking US$400 million in damages. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, stems from ongoing legal disputes surrounding the 2024 film. Baldoni alleges that Lively and Reynolds attempted to "destroy" him with false accusations of sexual harassment. The 179-page filing accuses the couple of civil extortion, false light invasion of privacy, and defamation.

This marks the second lawsuit Baldoni has filed related to Lively and the production of the film and the third overall, as Lively is also suing Baldoni and several associates for sexual harassment.

Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, released a statement describing the lawsuit as "based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence." Freedman accused Lively and her team of attempting to ruin Baldoni’s reputation by sharing “grossly edited, unsubstantiated, and doctored information” with the media. Baldoni’s team maintains that Lively cherry-picked text messages to support her claims, with Freedman adding, "Justin and his team have nothing to hide; documents do not lie." Baldoni is seeking damages totaling US$400 million (approximately AMD 1.6 billion).

This is Baldoni’s first direct legal action against Lively and Reynolds but follows a defamation lawsuit he filed in December 2024 against The New York Times. Baldoni and his team sued the publication for libel after it published a story featuring Lively’s allegations of harassment on the It Ends With Us set. The story included subpoenaed text messages between Baldoni and his publicists, which allegedly supported Lively’s claims that Baldoni manipulated the media to harm her reputation. Baldoni has denied these allegations, while Lively countersued with claims of sexual harassment and invasion of privacy.

Lively and Reynolds have yet to respond to Baldoni’s latest lawsuit.

Why Is Justin Baldoni Suing Ryan Reynolds?

While many are aware of the conflict between Baldoni and Lively, some may wonder how Ryan Reynolds became involved.

Baldoni’s lawsuit alleges that Reynolds interfered in the production of It Ends With Us. Court documents claim that when Baldoni resisted some script changes made by Lively, Reynolds and an unnamed "megacelebrity friend" intervened to pressure him. Baldoni reportedly texted Lively to assure her that he appreciated her revisions and didn’t need Reynolds and her "dragons," as she allegedly referred to them, to intervene.

The filing states that Baldoni faced immense pressure from Reynolds and Lively’s influential network. "At its core, this case is not about celebrities trading barbs in the media," the lawsuit reads. "It is about two of the most powerful stars in the world using their influence to wrest control of an entire film from its director and production team."

Lively’s original legal complaint described Reynolds as a supportive figure during a production meeting with the producers. However, Baldoni’s lawsuit alleges that his interaction with Reynolds during the meeting was "traumatic," claiming that the Deadpool actor berated him and accused him of fat-shaming Lively.

As of now, Reynolds has not publicly responded to Baldoni’s allegations or the latest lawsuit.