It Ends With Us director Baldoni sues star Lively and Reynolds for defamation

16 January 2025, 19:04

A composite photo of Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and Ryan Reynolds
Baldoni sues Lively and Reynolds. Picture: PA

The court action is the latest twist in the row between the stars over her alleged treatment on the set of the movie.

It Ends With Us actor and director Justin Baldoni has sued his co-star Blake Lively and her husband, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, for defamation on Thursday in the latest step in a bitter legal battle surrounding the dark, romantic drama.

Baldoni’s suit seeks at least 400 million US dollars (£327 million) for damages that includes lost future income.

The lawsuit from Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios, which also names publicist Leslie Sloane as a defendant, comes about two weeks after Lively sued Baldoni and several others tied to the film, alleging harassment and a co-ordinated campaign to attack her reputation for coming forward about her treatment on the set.

That lawsuit came the same day that Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel, alleging the paper worked with Lively to smear him.

The new lawsuit filed in federal court in New York says the plaintiffs did not want to file the suit, but that Lively “has unequivocally left them with no choice, not only to set the record straight in response to Lively’s accusations, but also to put the spotlight on the parts of Hollywood that they have dedicated their careers to being the antithesis of”.

An email seeking comment from Ms Sloane, whose PR company represents both Lively and Reynolds, was not immediately answered.

The two actors are also both represented by agency WME, which dropped Baldoni as a client after Lively filed a legal complaint that was a precursor to her lawsuit and the Times published its story on the fight surrounding the film.

The surprise hit film based on the novel by Colleen Hoover has made major waves in Hollywood and led to discussions of the treatment of female actors both on sets and in media.

By Press Association

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