Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni remain locked in a legal battle, following the dramatic release of their 2024 box office hit, It Ends With Us.
The Colleen Hoover adaptation was widely criticised at the time of release for its "tone deaf" media approach and the lack of conversation around domestic abuse. And amid reports of a "feud" over creative direction between producer Lively and director Baldoni, also co-stars in the film, Blake Lively in particular has suffered a major online backlash.
Lively confirmed that she was taking legal action against Baldoni in December 2024, suing her director and co-star for sexual harassment and for allegedly coordinating a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni, 41, has denied the allegations, and has since filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Lively's publicist, Leslie Sloane, suing them for alleged defamation.
Now, as the legal battle is reported to be moving to trial, Lively is said to be facing another lawsuit, with crisis communications specialist Jed Wallace filing a $7 million legal complaint against her.
Wallace and his crisis-management firm, Street Relations, were allegedly named in Lively's legal complaint, alleging that he worked with Baldoni to "weaponise a digital army" against her in a smear campaign.
Wallace is now suing Lively for alleged defamation, claiming that neither he nor his firm had any involvement in a campaign to damage her reputation.
Lively's legal representatives have publicly responded to Wallace's legal action, stating: "Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation."
The statement continued: "This is not just a publicity stunt - it is transparent retaliation in response to allegations contained within a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint that Ms. Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department. While this lawsuit will be dismissed, we are pleased that Mr. Wallace has finally emerged from the shadows, and that he too will be held accountable in federal court."
We will continue to update this story.
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