Justin Baldoni Takes Legal Action Against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds as Bitter ‘It Ends With Us’ Dispute Escalates | Entertainment & Arts News

The director and star of It Ends With Us, Justin Baldoni, is suing his co-star Blake Lively and her spouse Ryan Reynolds amid a contentious legal dispute related to the film.

Baldoni is pursuing damages totaling at least $400 million (£326 million), citing lost future earnings among other claims.

The legal action, initiated by Baldoni and his production firm, Wayfarer Studios, has been lodged in a court in New York.

According to the lawsuit, Lively and Reynolds took control of both the production and marketing efforts of It Ends With Us and allegedly used the media to discredit Baldoni and others involved in the production with unfounded harassment claims.

The lawsuit states: “This case involves two of the most influential stars globally leveraging their significant power to seize a film directly from its director and production company.”

“When Lively and Reynolds’ quest for the recognition they felt they deserved fell short, they redirected their anger toward their selected scapegoat.”

Furthermore, it asserts that Baldoni and the studio were reluctant to pursue legal action but felt that Lively “has unequivocally left them with no option, not just to correct the record […] but also to illuminate aspects of Hollywood they have worked their careers to oppose.”

Publicist Leslie Sloane is also named in the suit. As of now, neither she, Lively, nor Reynolds has commented on the lawsuit.

The conflict regarding the film sparked just before Christmas, when Lively filed a legal claim alleging Baldoni had sexually harassed her while on set for It Ends With Us.

A lawyer representing Baldoni, the studio, and its representatives stated that the accusations were “completely false, outrageous and intentionally sensationalist”.

The Gossip Girl star subsequently filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and his studio, accusing them of harassment.

She also accused them of executing a “multi-tiered plan” to tarnish her reputation after she reported her experiences on set.

This lawsuit coincided with Baldoni’s lawsuit against the New York Times for libel, alleging that the publication colluded with his co-star to defame him in their extensive article covering her initial legal complaint.

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It Ends With Us, a film based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, premiered in theaters last August.

Fans began to suspect a potential behind-the-scenes conflict when they noticed that Lively did not follow her co-star on social media in the weeks prior to the movie’s release.

During the movie’s promotion, Baldoni did not participate in any interviews with Lively, who instead took the spotlight alongside her husband Reynolds, who was busy with the press for Deadpool & Wolverine at the same time.