Explainer: BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI
Now featuring seven lawsuits, three publicists, a bot army, a possible Deadpool parody, and a premiere basement snub
Every week, we break down a story, trend, book or something everyone’s talking about—so you can understand it without reading 600 court documents. This week: the most chaotic drama in Hollywood, starring Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and the film adaptation of It Ends With Us.
Let’s catch you up—including the brand-new lawsuit Baldoni just filed against his ex-publicist for leaking texts to Lively.
⏰ TL;DR
Blake Lively says Justin Baldoni sexually harassed her on set and then retaliated against her with a digital smear campaign.
Baldoni says Lively and Ryan Reynolds made it up to take over creative control of the film.
Seven lawsuits have now been filed.
A Deadpool character may or may not be based on Baldoni.
And one of them was sent to a basement
🤷♀️WHO’S WHO
Blake Lively Actor and producer of It Ends With Us. Filed a sexual harassment and retaliation claim.
Justin Baldoni Actor/director/producer of the same film. Accuses Lively of lying and trying to hijack the movie.
Ryan Reynolds Blake’s husband. Accused of helping take over the film and of inserting a Baldoni parody into Deadpool & Wolverine.
Leslie Sloane Blake’s longtime publicist. Accused in Baldoni’s lawsuit of helping leak internal messages to The New York Times and of orchestrating a targeted PR assault against Baldoni. Harvey Weinstein was among the financiers who backed her public relations firm, Vision PR.
Wayfarer Studios Baldoni’s production company. Co-founded with billionaire Steve Sarowitz. Accused of enabling retaliation.
Jamey Heath Wayfarer CEO, co-host of Baldoni’s Man Enough podcast. Also named in Lively’s suit.
Stephanie Jones Baldoni’s former publicist at Jonesworks PR. Says she was fired when she objected to the retaliation campaign. Suing Baldoni’s team for wrongful termination. Also now being sued by Baldoni and his current team for allegedly leaking texts to Lively and Sloane.
Jennifer Abel Baldoni’s current publicist. Worked closely with PR firm TAG and allegedly played a central role in organizing the press strategy to discredit Lively. Texts from her phone were leaked and formed the basis of the New York Times exposé.
Jed Wallace Crisis PR strategist. Accused of organizing a bot-driven smear campaign. Suing The New York Times and Lively for defamation.
Melissa Nathan / TAG PR Another PR rep accused of orchestrating retaliation, with ties to Johnny Depp’s legal team.
Colleen Hoover Author of the source novel-which she optioned to Baldoni. Publicly supported Lively.
Sony Distributor of the film. Stepped in during post-production, reportedly siding with Lively’s vision and final edit of the film over Baldoni’s original cut. Allegedly tried to mediate the dispute quietly but failed.
⚖️ THE LAWSUIT COUNT (SO FAR)
Blake Lively’s suit (filed Dec 2024): Accuses Baldoni, Wayfarer, and multiple PR reps of sexual harassment, retaliation, and a coordinated smear campaign.
Baldoni’s $400M countersuit (filed Jan 2025): Claims Lively, Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane lied and manipulated the press to destroy his reputation and seize control of the movie.
The New York Times sued (twice): One libel suit from Baldoni’s PR firm over their reporting, and a second one folded into his broader countersuit.
Jed Wallace’s suit against Lively: Claims she defamed him by suggesting he coordinated bot attacks online. He denies any wrongdoing.
Stephanie Jones’ original lawsuit (Dec 2024): She claimed Baldoni’s team defamed her and tried to pin the smear campaign on her when it was really run by Abel and Nathan.
NEW: Baldoni’s new suit against Jones (March 2025): Says she leaked private comms to Lively and hurt his career.
🚨 THE NEWEST DEVELOPMENT
March 2025: Justin Baldoni and his current publicist, Jennifer Abel, are now suing his former publicist, Stephanie Jones.
Why? They say Jones:
Leaked private text messages from Abel’s phone
Gave those texts to Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane
Kicked off the entire legal firestorm by doing so
Those leaked messages allegedly showed Abel and Baldoni’s crisis PR team plotting a smear campaign against Lively, including Reddit threads and planted press.
This new suit accuses Jones of violating confidentiality, defaming Baldoni, and sabotaging his career.
Jones already sued Baldoni last year, saying she was scapegoated and that the real smear campaign was run by Abel and crisis PR pro Melissa Nathan.
So yes, they are now suing each other.
This brings the total to seven separate lawsuits.
👊THE CENTRAL FIGHT
Lively’s Allegations:
Baldoni improvised physical contact during filming without consent
He and Jamey Heath entered her trailer without permission
When filming stopped for the strike, Lively sent a formal complaint to the studio with a list of demands for things like the above to stop. Baldoni, and Wayfarer signed a document saying they would.
Baldoni and team launched a sophisticated media and Reddit smear campaign because she complained and to steer the public narrative in his favor (aka “astroturfing”)
Froze her out of the creative process, then retaliated when she pushed for changes
When she tried to demand changes, the retaliation escalated
Baldoni’s Side Says
Lively and Reynolds were trying to seize creative control of the movie and future sequels
They threatened to ruin the film and weaponized their fame and the media
Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane allegedly has ties to Harvey Weinstein-era tactics of controlling narratives, silencing stories, and flipping press cycles and allegedly pitched the story to the NYT and leaked the documents to them.
Reynolds inserted a parody of Baldoni (“Nicepool”) in Deadpool as revenge
🔍 STEP-BY-STEP TIMELINE: BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI
📍 Spring–Summer 2023: On-Set Tensions Begin
Blake Lively is cast as Lily Bloom in It Ends With Us, directed by and co-starring Justin Baldoni.
During filming, Lively allegedly experiences multiple incidents involving Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath:
Baldoni allegedly improvises physical contact during emotional scenes.
Both Baldoni and Heath allegedly enter her trailer uninvited.
Lively and others feel there is a sexually inappropriate and invasive environment.
📍 Mid-2023: Formal Complaint Filed, Production Paused
Lively lodges a formal complaint with Sony, the film's distributor, citing harassment and an unsafe workplace.
She reportedly refuses to return to set unless certain conditions are met.
Wayfarer Studios (Baldoni’s company) and Baldoni are forced to sign a written agreement acknowledging the complaints and agreeing to conduct changes.
Filming resumes under stricter supervision. Lively continues under pressure but with new oversight in place.
📍 Fall 2023: Creative Control Struggles
Tensions escalate during post-production:
Lively allegedly requests access to dailies and brings in her own editor.
She creates an alternate cut of the film with Shane Reid (editor on Deadpool & Wolverine).
Baldoni completes his own director’s cut—but Sony ultimately chooses Lively’s version.
Lively and Reynolds reportedly rework scenes, including dialogue rewrites and tone adjustments. Reynolds is said to have ghostwritten one scene.
Lively later texted the screenwriter to apologize for saying that on the red carpet as it took away from the writer’s work.
📍 Late Summer 2024: Promotional Press Tour Breaks Down
During early marketing, Lively gives interviews where she appears disengaged and references disagreements.
Baldoni and Lively do not appear together at major events.
Baldoni is reportedly seated in a basement area at the film’s premiere, while Lively and author Colleen Hoover take center stage.
📍 December 20, 2024: Lively Files State Complaint
Lively files a formal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), naming:
Justin Baldoni
Wayfarer Studios
Jamey Heath
Publicist Jennifer Abel
PR strategist Melissa Nathan (TAG PR)
Crisis PR contractor Jed Wallace
The complaint alleges:
Sexual harassment
Retaliation
Failure to prevent harassment
Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Retaliatory smear campaign
📍 December 21, 2024: NYT Bombshell Story
The New York Times publishes a detailed exposé titled “We Can Bury Anyone”, outlining:
A coordinated smear campaign against Lively, allegedly led by Baldoni’s PR team.
Internal texts between publicists discussing Reddit threads and press manipulation.
Mentions of astroturfing tactics—fake grassroots campaigns designed to sway public opinion.
Lively says she went public to “pull back the curtain” on the weaponization of PR in Hollywood.
📍 December 23–24, 2024: Cast Reactions + First Lawsuit
Support for Lively pours in:
Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar, Colleen Hoover, and America Ferrera publicly back Lively.
Slate calls the campaign “terribly dark and disturbing.”
Colleen Hoover, Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar, and America Ferrera all unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram
Sklenar posts “For the love of God, read this,” linking to the NYT article.
Baldoni’s former publicist Stephanie Jones files a lawsuit in NY against Baldoni, Abel, and Nathan, claiming:
They ran the smear campaign without her knowledge.
Then tried to pin it on her when it blew up.
📍 December 31, 2024: Two More Lawsuits Filed
Lively files a federal lawsuit in New York, repeating claims from the CRD filing.
Simultaneously, Jed Wallace sues The New York Times for libel, saying:
Lively and the NYT “cherry-picked” texts and defamed him without evidence.
📍 January 7, 2025: “Nicepool” Rumors Surface
Social media notices a new character in Deadpool & Wolverine called “Nicepool.”
Rumors swirl that it’s a satirical jab at Baldoni, written by Reynolds.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman calls it “abhorrent” if true.
📍 January 16, 2025: Baldoni’s $400M Countersuit
Baldoni, Wayfarer, Abel, Nathan, and the film’s LLC sue:
Blake Lively
Ryan Reynolds
Leslie Sloane (Lively’s longtime publicist)
Allegations include:
Civil extortion
Defamation
Interference with business
False light
They claim Lively lied about harassment to take over the movie and that Reynolds helped rewrite and sabotage the project.
📍 January 31, 2025: NYT Added to $400M Suit
The $400M lawsuit is amended to include The New York Times as a defendant.
Baldoni’s team also launches a website with texts and receipts.
Lively’s team calls it “DARVO” (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender).
📍 February 4, 2025: Jed Wallace Sues Lively
Wallace files a separate defamation suit in Texas.
Says Lively dragged him into the scandal with no evidence and cost him millions in PR contracts.
📍 March 21, 2025: Baldoni Sues Stephanie Jones
In a new twist, Baldoni and Abel sue former publicist Stephanie Jones, claiming:
She leaked private texts to Lively’s team that led to the NYT story.
She did so out of revenge after being fired for cause.
Jones previously said she was being scapegoated and that the real retaliators were Abel and Nathan.
🫣 CURRENT STATUS (as of March 2025)
Lively:
Suing for harassment and retaliation
Facing defamation countersuit from Baldoni
Facing defamation claim from Jed Wallace
Allegedly received texts via Stephanie Jones (Baldoni says improperly)
Baldoni:
Denies all harassment
Suing Lively, Reynolds, and Sloane for $400M
Suing NYT
Suing Stephanie Jones
Accused of orchestrating online smear campaign
Stephanie Jones:
Suing Baldoni’s team
Being sued by Baldoni for leaks
Jed Wallace:
Suing NYT and Lively for defamation
Accused of bot-driven PR warfare
The New York Times:
Standing by their story
Being sued by both Wallace and Baldoni
🤔 SO, WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON HERE?
Is it:
A. It started with harassment, and Lively pushed back
B. It was a power grab, and Lively/Reynolds wanted creative control over the movie and potential sequels
C. Baldoni tried to manage a PR crisis and got caught using dirty tactics
D. Everyone underestimated how bad this would look when all the texts and press leaks came out
E. All of the Above
F. None of the above.
Answer in the comments
📍WHAT’S NEXT?
Discovery and motions to dismiss are underway
Lively’s team is standing firm—and her version of the movie was the one Sony ultimately released
It’s not clear if It Ends With Us will ever get a sequel now. I guess it It Ends With Them.
Lively’s motion to dismiss Baldoni’s $400M suit is currently under review
More subpoenas, depositions, and possibly text messages will surface
This may end in a confidential settlement, or it will drag out into 2026 if it goes to trial
💭 FINAL THOUGHT
It started as a romantic drama. It became a legal thriller.
It’s also a documentary on how PR, press, and social media manipulation are used in Hollywood.
One thing’s clear, It Ends With Us was not a love story.
👋🏻 BEFORE YOU GO
Suggestions for next week?
Great idea! It may need to be week after next so I have time to reread it.
E!
And - wow, thank you.
Suggestion for next week = Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry seems to be enjoying a renaissance thanks to Gen Z readers. Love this book & wouldn’t mind an explainer to refresh my memory!*
*plus I think it would help drive traffic to your excellent newsletter but you can delete this part if you like;)