In a shocking turn of events, actor Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni and several others tied to the romantic drama, alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation for speaking out about her treatment on set. The federal lawsuit, filed in New York, came just hours after Baldoni and other defendants in Lively’s suit sued The New York Times for libel over their coverage of the allegations.
The lawsuits have rocked Hollywood and sparked conversations about the treatment of female actors both on sets and in the media. Lively’s suit accuses Baldoni, the film’s production company Wayfarer Studios, and others of engaging in a retaliatory scheme to silence her after she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, addressed claims of sexual harassment and disturbing behavior on set.
The alleged mistreatment included inappropriate comments from Baldoni about Lively’s body and attempts to pressure her to reveal intimate details about her personal life. Baldoni’s lawyer has called the allegations false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious.
In response to Lively’s lawsuit, Baldoni and others filed a libel lawsuit against The New York Times, seeking at least $250 million. The Times has stood by its reporting, saying it was meticulously researched and based on thousands of pages of original documents.
The libel lawsuit claims the Times ignored evidence that contradicted Lively’s claims and exposed her true motives. However, the Times maintains that its reporting was accurate and responsible. Lively is not a defendant in the libel lawsuit.
The romantic drama It Ends With Us, based on a bestselling novel, was a box office success, but its release was overshadowed by speculation about discord between Lively and Baldoni. Baldoni was dropped by his agency, WME, following Lively’s complaint and the Times’ story.
See also Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tough Bronx persona is under fresh scrutiny with a resurfaced childhood nickname from her suburban upstate New York upbringing casting doubt on that publicly portrayed image. The progressive champion’s latest spat with President Donald Trump over the Iran strikes again called into question her true upbringing when she declared on X she was a “Bronx girl" to make her a point against the president. The 35-year-old congresswoman wrote in part on X: "I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully," she said, referring to the president’s upbringing in Queens as she called for his impeachment over his decision to bypass Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx but moved to Yorktown – which is nearly an hour outside New York City -- when she was 5 years old and went on to attend Yorktown High School where she graduated in 2007. She was considered an accomplished student there and well thought of by teacher Michael Blueglass, according to a 2018 report by local media outlet Halston Media News. “There, known by students and staff as ‘Sandy,’ she was a member of the Science Research Program taught by Michael Blueglass," the report states. “She was amazing," Blueglass said, per the report. “Aside from her winning one of the top spots and going to the [Intel International Science and Engineering Fair], she was just one of the most amazing presenters in all of the years I've been at Yorktown. Her ability to take complex information and explain it to all different levels of people was fantastic." After high school, Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, where she majored in economics and international relations, per the report. Ocasio-Cortez’s “Sandy" nickname — which carries a more suburban and preppy tone — appears to undercut her politically crafted image as a tough, inner-city fighter, one she has portrayed since her famous 2018 congressional campaign where she eventually ousted former 10-terms Congressman Joe Crowley. New York GOP Assemblyman Matt Slater, who now represents Yorktown, added to the scrutiny of Ocasio-Cortez’s persona in the wake of her brash with Trump and released images of Ocasio-Cortez from his high school yearbook. He claimed he and the rising Democratic star attended Yorktown High School at the same time when she was a freshman and he was a senior. "I saw the attacks on the president and her [Ocasio-Cortez] claims that she's a big, tough Bronx girl," said Slater. "To sit there and say that she’s a Bronx girl is just patently ridiculous." "Everybody in our community knows this is just a bold-face lie," said Slater on "Fox & Friends First" last week. "She grew up in Yorktown, she was on my track team." "She's lying about her background, she's lying about her upbringing," Slater claimed. Slater’s post sent social media ablaze and prompted Ocasio-Cortez to respond after an image if her family’s home was posted online. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X Friday responding to the post. “My mom cleaned houses and I helped. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep." “Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views of inequality & it’s a big reason I believe the things I do today!"
Lively rose to fame in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Gossip Girl before starring in films like The Town and The Shallows. Baldoni, known for Jane the Virgin and Five Feet Apart, responded to criticism of It Ends With Us, saying critics were entitled to their opinions.
The legal battles between Lively, Baldoni, and The New York Times continue to unfold, with each side standing firm in their defense. The outcome of these lawsuits could have far-reaching implications for how actors are treated on set and how the media covers allegations of misconduct in Hollywood.
