• Comment: Hello, and welcome again to Wikipedia. I have reviewed your draft, and it seems like you might have some content here that is either duplicated by or could be added to It Ends with Us controversy. Having a separate article for their legal conflict could create a content fork. Additionally, the 'related parties' section of this draft does not seem to be formatted in the most readable way for an encyclopedia. I would also like to suggest that it might be more effective to discuss these individuals in the narrative and explain their roles as they come up, rather than listing them out removed from context. Thank you, Zzz plant (talk) 21:56, 1 May 2025 (UTC)

Primary Conflict

The movie It Ends with Us was anticipated to be a success. Based on a book by Colleen Hoover, the film was meant to raise awareness about domestic violence. Reports of disagreements behind the scenes began to circulate after the film’s premiere, specifically involving director and producer Justin Baldoni and lead actress Blake Lively.^[1]Both parties filed Complaints against the other. Lively filed hers first, alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.^[2] Baldoni filed his complaint after an article from the New York Times was published, wherein his complaint cited defamation and extortion.^[3]

Actress Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni and his team on December 20, 2024.^[2] Shortly after, on December 21, 2024, the New York Times released an article titled “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” detailing the contentious legal dispute between well-known actress Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni during the production of the movie It Ends With Us. In the article, sources state that during filming, Lively faced sexual harassment and a hostile work environment from Baldoni and lead producer, Jamey Heath. Among her complaints were that the men “repeatedly violated physical boundaries and made sexual and other inappropriate comments to her”.^[2] The article continues to say that in retaliation, Baldoni and his team launched a “smear campaign” against Lively, culminating in a public legal battle between the two parties.^[4]

Following these events, on December 24, 2024, a publicist named Stephanie Jones, who used to work for Baldoni through her agency Jonesworks, filed a lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court against him and his Public Relations team. Jones alleges that Baldoni and his team’s “smear campaign” caused her agency harm and that they stole her clients. The lawsuit focuses on Baldoni’s present publicist, Jennifer Abel, crisis communications representative Melissa Nathan, and Baldoni’s company, Wayfarer Studios.^[5]

Wayfarer Studios, along with Baldoni and other individuals, filed a federal lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, publicist Leslie Sloane, and Vision PR in January of 2025. The Complaint states that Lively changed the intended purpose and creative direction of the film, prioritized promoting her business during the press tour, and making false allegations against Baldoni and his team, resulting in the withdrawal of key production figures from promotional events.^[6]

According to the lawsuit, Lively allegedly pressured Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to issue a public statement taking accountability for controversies surrounding the film.^[6] When they refused, the Complaint asserts that Lively initiated a public defamation campaign against Baldoni, including the filing of a Complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department and alleged coordination with the New York Times to publish damaging stories. The plaintiffs also stated that Lively used her influence to take over the film’s creative process, secure a Producer’s Guild of America (PGA) mark, and exclude Baldoni from film promotion.^[6]

The basis of Baldoni’s case was built upon issues of defamation and extortion. The plaintiff's claim was that Lively's actions resulted in the change of the purpose of the film from domestic violence awareness and damaged their professional image.^[6]

Timeline

The timeline of events was closely related to the development and production of It Ends With Us, starting with the vision Justin Baldoni had years earlier for the film, which he began developing before Blake Lively became involved.^[5]

After a public controversy in August 2024, Lively allegedly began placing blame on Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios. Once industry strikes began ending later that year, she reportedly refused to return to the set unless the production agreed to "Protections for Return to Production," which the plaintiffs claim falsely presented prior misconduct.^[6] Through these protections, it has been said that Lively gained significant creative and promotional control over the project.^[1]

During the holiday season, she submitted a Complaint to California's Civil Rights Department. After allegedly providing the outlet with information for several months, she leaked it to the press, including the New York Times. Eleven days later, in early January of 2025, she filed a civil lawsuit, nudging the plaintiffs to file their own legal Complaint on January 16, 2025, documenting these alleged events.^[5]

Court Dates

A Pretrial Conference took place on February 3, 2025. This was a meeting in court between only the attorneys and Judge Lewis J. Liman to address publicity and the conduct of the attorneys.^[1] During this conference, Judge Lewis J. Liman warned both parties’ attorneys to consider what is publicly shared regarding the case. The trial date may be reset to an earlier date if the attorneys continue releasing commentary statements to the media about motions and filings made during the case. The hearing was the first time both attorneys argued in person in a courtroom, and neither of their clients was present for the pretrial.^[1]

Complaints

The first legal complaint was filed on December 20, 2024, by Blake Lively. The original complaint alleges that she was sexually harassed by Justin Baldoni and Jamey Heath on the set of It Ends With Us. Included in the Complaint is an explanation that a meeting on January 4^th with producers, Lively, her husband (Ryan Reynolds), and both Baldoni and Heath, had already been conducted to express concerns, wherein an agreement was reached for a change in behavior to correct the working environment on set. Following the conclusion of the film, Lively claimed that Baldoni worked against the proposed Marketing Plan that all relevant parties were meant to follow while promoting the film. She claims that the pivot in his marketing and following statements were planned to paint her in a bad light in retaliation for speaking out about his behavior on set. All parties from the movie and publicity personnel for Baldoni are all included in the Complaint, since it is alleged that all parties conspired to use the media to discredit her and intimidate anyone else who might consider speaking out.^[2]

Baldoni and his publicists reacted to the Times article with their lawsuit, suing the newspaper for libel on December 31, 2024. In the lawsuit, the actor and his team allege that the Times included false statements about the actor and his publicist, and also manipulated texts and content. Baldoni claims that Lively abused her powerful position in the media to persuade the newspaper to publish the story, essentially launching their own ‘smear campaign’. In the lawsuit, the actor and his team allege that the newspaper violated ethics and journalistic practices by publishing a false narrative on the actor and his team in an attempt to place audiences in Lively’s favor. The lawsuit demanded 250 million dollars as a result of damages to the actor and his team’s reputations.^[3]

On the same day, Lively came forward with another lawsuit against Baldoni. In Lively’s Complaint against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and others, she alleges that as a result of her reporting sexual harassment and concerns for her safety, she has been the target of attacks and retaliation at the hands of the defendants. She believes this retaliation to be a violation of the law, as she should be able to voice her concerns and experiences without fear of this retaliation in a professional setting.^[3]

Justin Baldoni filed another legal Complaint on January 16, 2025.^[6]The filing claims that the negative view of the press during the Marketing after filming the movie was due to her own actions. It adds that Baldoni was willing to keep quiet about the fact that she did all she could to take the movie away from Wayfarer during filming and pushing Baldoni out of events related to Marketing. It continues to claim that the sexual harassment that was alleged is false and was used to take creative control of the film, despite its production belonging to Baldoni. The claims include the fact that the false allegations were used to try and command control of production and proports that Blake Lively never even read the book that the film was based on. They additionally claimed that the public relations firm Wayfarer employed at the time (Jonesworks LLC) had been fired and took an employee’s phone to obtain out-of-context messages to present in Lively’s lawsuit. The employee in question was Jennifer Abel, who had left Jonesworks with the intention of starting her own PR firm. It fully denies both the claim of sexual harassment and the supposed media manipulation by Baldoni.^[6]

An additional complaint is the amended complaint filed by Blake Lively on February 18, 2025.^[7] It restates the previous claims made in the first Complaint with additional evidence added. It includes some statements that partially respond to claims from the Baldoni Complaint. Notably, that the first claims made by Lively were not made to take control of the film. The amended Complaint also contains additional claims that Lively spoke to another female cast member, and that she was not the only person made uncomfortable by the behavior of Baldoni and Heath. This cast member was apparently relieved by the protections document that was made before everyone returned to filming. The claim states that the Marketing Plan she followed was approved of by Mr. Heath. Additionally, another cast member is claimed to have reached out to Lively in which she asked if Sony could assist in solving the cyberbullying she was experiencing. Overall, the amendment adds evidence and claims that other cast members went to Lively for assistance in regard to Baldoni and Heath’s behavior on set and the resulting public backlash resulting from the Marketing Plan that was being followed.^[7]

Related Parties

Blake Lively: Actress who starred in It Ends With Us. She was also a producer on the film.^[3]She was the plaintiff who raised legal Complaints against co-star and director of the film Justin Baldoni.^[2][7]She had a countersuit filed against her by Justin Baldoni.^[6]

Ryan Reynolds: The husband of Blake Lively. He was named in the countersuit by Justin Baldoni.^[6]

Justin Baldoni: Actor who starred in It Ends With Us. Hs was credited as a director of the film. He had a legal Complaint filed against him by Blake Lively and filed a countersuit for defamation against numerous parties.^[2][6][7]

WAYFARER STUDIOS LLC: A media production company that is co-founded by Justin Baldoni. They are named as a defendant in Lively’s suit and named as a plaintiff in Baldoni’s suit.^[2][6]

Jamey Heath: The Chief Executive Officer of Wayfarer and President of Wayfarer at the time of production of the film. He was a producer on the film and one of the defendants of Lively’s complaint.^[2] He was additionally a plaintiff in Baldoni’s lawsuit filing.^[6]

Steve Sarowitz: Co-founder of Wayfarer. He was named as a defendant in the Lively suit as a person who was funding negative press against her.^[2]

IT ENDS WITH US MOVIE LLC: Entity under Wayfarer that partially financed the film. ^[2]

Melisa Nathan: Crisis communications specialist. Her crisis communications company, The Agency Group PR LLC, was hired by Justin Baldoni during the filming to handle crisis PR. Entity named as a defendant in the lawsuit by Blake Lively.^[2]

THE AGENCY GROUP PR LLC: Crisis communications and Public Relations Company run by Melisa Nathan. Named as a defendant in the lawsuit by Blake Lively.^[2]

Jennifer Abel: Publicist for Wayfarer Studios LLC. She is named as a defendant in Lively’s lawsuit. ^[2]

Leslie Sloane: Publicist for Blake Lively. She is listed as a defendant in Baldoni’s lawsuit. ^[6]

Vision PR, INC.: Public relations firm that Leslie Sloane works for. They are listed as an entity in the Baldoni lawsuit as a defendant. ^[6]

Jed Wallace: President, Director and Secretary of Street Relations INC. He is a PR consultant who is a defendant in Blake Lively’s amended Complaint. He is claimed to have contributed to the spread of manufactured content online that painted Lively in a negative light.^[7]

STREET RELATIONS INC.: Crisis mitigation firm owned by Jed Wallace. Mentioned in the amended Complaint by Blake Lively as a defendant of the lawsuit.^[7]

Michael Gottlieb: Attorney that is representing Blake Lively in her lawsuit.^[3]

Bryan Freedman: Attorney that is representing Justin Baldoni in his lawsuit.^[3]

Stephanie Jones: The founder of Jonesworks LLC. The former PR firm that worked with Wayfarer, who is claimed to have contributed to Blake Lively’s initial complaint by providing messages that were cut to paint Baldoni in a bad light. She and her company are mentioned in Baldoni’s lawsuit, but neither are being sued in the filing.^[6]