Blake Lively is ’emotionally zapped’ amid her spate of lawsuits with Justin Baldoni, but remains confident she will ultimately prevail over what she believes is a ‘sideshow’ orchestrated by her It Ends with Us costar-director and his legal team.
The legal battles with Baldoni, 41, have taken ‘a deep emotional toll’ and on the actress, 37, as well as her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, who has been named in one of the suits, an insider close to Lively told TMZ Tuesday.
The Los Angeles native and her spouse have experienced ‘severe anguish’ amid the drama surrounding the production, promotion and release of the motion picture, the insider said, and she is striving ‘to get this all buttoned up.’
Lively, 37, has accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment, while he has fired back with a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane claiming defamation and extortion.
Baldoni, who has shared his communications with Lively over the film on a newly-released website, says the trio concocted ‘false accusations of sexual harassment’ against him.
Dailymail.com has reached out to reps for Lively and Reynolds, and lawyers and reps for Baldoni, for further comment on this story.
Blake Lively, 37, is ’emotionally zapped’ amid her spate of lawsuits with Justin Baldoni, 41, but remains confident she will ultimately prevail over what she believes is a ‘sideshow’ orchestrated by her It Ends with Us costar-director. Lively pictured in NYC in August
The legal battles with Baldoni have taken ‘a deep emotional toll’ and on the actress as well as her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, who has been named in one of the suits. The Hollywood power couple pictured at the NYC premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine in July
Lively, who played Lily Bloom opposite Baldoni’s Ryle Kincaid in the romantic drama, was ‘grateful’ for how a Monday hearing in New York City went, sources told the outlet.
Lively – who is mother to four kids with Reynolds – felt that Judge Lewis J. Liman ‘ruled in her favor’ by issuing a warning to Baldoni lawyer Bryan Freedman over statements made to the media that could impact the jury selection process over multiple cases.
In the hearing, the federal judge admonished attorneys on both sides to cease speaking publicly on the case out of fears it could impact potential jury selection, and said he could move up the slated March 9, 2026 trial date if they were unable to do so.
Sources close to Lively said the actress was ‘more than ready for her day in court’ and prepared to show the court and public the validity of sexual harassment and retaliation claims she made against Baldoni.
Lively’s attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told Dailymail.com in a statement on Monday following court proceedings, ‘We are pleased with the result of today’s hearing and eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case.
‘The Court granted our request that all attorneys in the matter actually follow the rule of law and not make any statements that could prejudice a jury. This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation.’
Gottlieb and Hudson told Dailymail.com they intended to ‘hold the defendants accountable’ and ‘are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms. Lively will prevail.’
Lively feels Baldoni’s efforts – which include the publication of a website showcasing court filings containing text messages and other media related to the production of the movie – amount to a ‘counter claim sideshow,’ sources told TMZ Tuesday.
Baldoni, who has shared his communications with Lively over the film on a newly-released website, says the trio concocted ‘false accusations of sexual harassment’ against him. Baldoni pictured in LA in December
A text exchange from April 7-8, 2023 between Lively and Baldoni surrounded the rooftop scene in the film, with Lively explaining how her skill set could be complemented by changes to the script
The motion picture earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally
Baldoni’s team previously said that the communications shared in court filings on the website – which already has fans talking – makes things clear about the actions of both parties, marking the latest chapter in the feud between the lead stars of romantic drama.
The website, which is live online at thelawsuitinfo.com, comes amid a spate of high-profile litigation between the collaborators on the film, which was a hit at the box office last August.
The site that contained that revelation and others went live days prior to the first hearing for Monday.
Monday’s hearing was previously pushed up from an initial date of February 12, ahead of a trial with a starting date of March 9, 2026 in the case.
Lawyers for both parties were in accordance with a plan to compound both federal cases filed into one moving forward.
Lively in December sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture, which was a hit when it arrived in theaters in August.
In Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways – including body shaming her – and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.
Baldoni has denied all of the claims against him in Lively’s legal filing. He and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture.
The Los Angeles native and her spouse have experienced ‘severe anguish’ amid the drama surrounding the production, promotion and release of the motion picture, the insider said, and she is striving ‘to get this all buttoned up.’ Pictured in London in August
Lively and Reynolds pictured at Cipriani Wall Street on February 10, 2016 in New York City
Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni December 20, before officially filing a federal lawsuit on December 31.
In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni’s collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio’s CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.
‘I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,’ Lively told The New York Times the day after she filed the complaint.
Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled ‘”We Can Bury Anyone”: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.’
Attorneys for Baldoni in mid-January distributed letters demanding various entertainment industry figures safeguard evidence linked to claims that Reynolds wrote a character named Nicepool into the Deadpool 2 film, intended to parody and humiliate Baldoni.
Baldoni on January 16 filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging defamation and extortion. Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted ‘false accusations of sexual harassment’ against him.
Since Lively’s complaint was filed, Baldoni has faced a number of professional consequences, including a lawsuit from a former publicist; and being dropped by the agency WME, which also reps Lively and Reynolds.
Lively felt that Judge Lewis J. Liman ‘ruled in her favor’ by issuing a warning to Baldoni lawyer Bryan Freedman (pictured) over statements made to the media that could impact the jury selection process over multiple cases
Lively in December sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture, which was a hit when it arrived in theaters in August
WME has denied claims that Lively and Reynolds leaned on them to release Baldoni from their client roster, according to Variety.
It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences. The film, adapted from the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel, earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
Lively broke out with the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants opposite Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera. That led to her high-profile role on the TV show Gossip Girl, which she starred on from 2007-2012, playing lead character Serena van der Woodsen.
She has also appeared in movies such as 2010’s The Town, 2016’s The Shallows, 2018’s A Simple Favor and 2020’s The Rhythm Section.
Prior to It Ends with Us, Baldoni was best known for playing the role of Rafael Solano on the TV show Jane the Virgin from 2014–2019. He also has directed films including 2019’s Five Feet Apart and 2020’s Clouds, and penned the 2021 book Man Enough, which tackled misconceptions of contemporary masculinity.