Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni case potentially going to trial in 2026
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Since the release of It Ends With Us, Blake Lively and her co-star Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film, have sued each other, and now, according to the judge, it seems likely that they’ll be heading to trial.
When the movie, based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling book of the same name, was released in August last year, Baldoni was largely absent from the press tour. Many internet users began sharing videos of Lively, claiming that her promotion of the film, which explores domestic violence, was out of touch. Subsequently, old videos of her being interviewed resurfaced, with many calling the actor rude and entitled.
While the film was a box-office success, much of the discussion around it online and in the media related to the rumoured feud between Lively and Baldoni.
In December, Lively filed a lawsuit claiming that Baldoni sexually harassed her. Her lawsuit outlined that during filming, a meeting took place to address ongoing issues that were making her uncomfortable.
In response, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, spoke to TMZ, calling the lawsuit Lively’s attempt to “fix her negative reputation” while also calling the claims “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.”
With The New York Times uncovering evidence to suggest that Baldoni had hired a PR team to allegedly destroy Lively’s reputation, support for the actor emerged from her friends and family online.
On December 31st, Lively officially sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and for attempting to damage her reputation in the industry.
Meanwhile, January 1st saw Baldoni sue The New York Times for $250 million, with the suit claiming that the outlet released “cherry-picked” information.
On January 17th, Baldoni sued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds for civil extortion and defamation.
Now, Judge Lewis J Liman has announced a hearing on February 3rd. It is assumed that here, Lively’s team will advocate for a protective order to limit Freedman from publishing further supposed evidence against Lively online.
Liman asked each party to arrange a briefing schedule so that a trial can go ahead on March 9th, 2026. This will take place unless the pair come to an agreement beforehand.
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