Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively legal war has Hollywood buzzing: Deets inside
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s legal war has detonated in Hollywood fraternity.
On January 20, 181 pages of newly unsealed court documents blew open Lively, 38, and Baldoni’s, 42, long simmering legal war, dragging A-list stars, studio executives and pop royalty straight into the blast zone.
What spilled out wasn’t just legal strategy – it was unfiltered texts, bruised egos, and behind-the-scenes power plays that exposed how ugly things got during the making of It Ends With Us, movie based on book adaptation of Colleen Hover’s novel.
As a result, it became a Hollywood dumpster fire that’s now impossible to ignore.
Private texts < Public chaos
The documents reveal just how casually so many A-list celebrities were quietly pulled into this conflict.
Among the most prominent exchanges: messages from Lively, asking Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to watch her cut of the movie and give feedback. The main highlight was the conversation between Lively and Taylor Swift, in which the singer allegedly called Baldoni a “b***h.”
Elsewhere, castmate Jenny Slate called Baldoni a “clown” and a “false ally”, while the actor’s producing partner, Jamey Heath, labelled Lively “bats**t crazy.”
Studio execs didn’t hold back either. One Sony executive dubbed Lively as a “f**king terrorist,” while a marketing person called Baldoni “a moron.” Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group president Sanford Panitch slammed Lively for promoting her haircare line during press for a film based on domestic violence, calling it “epic level stupid.”
Even baldoni’s own PR rep, Jennifer Abel, vented in private, describing her client as “pompous” and “so unlikable and unrealistic as a leading man.”
How it all started?
Lively sued Baldoni in late 2024, alleging sexual harassment and claiming he orchestrated smear campaign against her. Baldoni denied the accusations and countersued for $400 million, alleging extortion and defamation – a ase that was later dismissed.
The trial is currently set for May 18, but the damage is already done.
What began as a behind-the-scenes disagreement has ballooned into what inside calls “an industry-wide headache.”
Real question? ‘Why am I being dragged into this?’
For stars caught on the periphery, the frustration is real.
“The feeling is frustration,” a source from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s circle told Us Weekly. “There’s a sense of, ‘Why am I being dragged into this?’ … People feel like it’s become a black hole.”
Group chat texts show how Ryan Reynolds urging Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, to watch Lively’s cut.
Damon replied they’d help “any way we can,” though a source says the couple “aren’t close friends” with Lively and “don’t love that their texts are public.”
Affleck was contacted separately. Lively emailed her former The Town costar asking whether he and then-wife Jennifer Lopez could screen the film. In the email, she described Baldoni as a “chaotic clown,” writing:
“If I would’ve just formally directed it, it would’ve been much easier… having to troubleshoot through his taste, ego and preexisting decisions made it so difficult.”
The Argo star never responded. “He was filming and busy,” says the source. Lopez, meanwhile, “didn’t even know this was happening at the time and wants no involvement.”
Jameela Jamil, Taylor Swift: Fallout factor!
In the leaked messages, some of the most controversial ones are from Jameela Jamil, who vented to Baldoni’s publicist – who also represented her – calling Lively “a suicide bomber” and criticising her upbeat press tone.
Jamil later responded to the comments on TikTok, saying that she was “purely venting” and that, as a survivor of domestic violence, Lively’s press tone offended me.
On contrary, Swift’s text messages may carry the biggest emotional baggage. In one exchange, the singer-songwriter warned that allowing her music into the trailer might shift power towards Lively: “If Justin was strategic he would be like no Taylor Swift in the trailer because that gives you more power over the film.”
Lively replied: “You are so right… How stupid.”
A source said Swift felt “exposed and kind of violated” when the texts became public. “It’s not what it once was,” the source says of their friendship, adding that Swift has stepped back and feels “violated by proximity.”
The evidence?
Legal experts are split. Entertainment attorney Tre Lovell says many of the messages support Baldoni’s argument that the conflict was about creative control, not harassment. “These messages are about control,” he gave his opinion.
Others disagree. Civil rights lawyer Lisa Bloom argues the documents show Lively raised concerns early and repeatedly. “She’s complaining about Baldoni’s misogyny a great deal,” Bloom says, noting that studio executives “sound like they just did not give a damn.”
Lively’s attorney Sigrid McCawley maintains the documents prove Baldoni and his company were aware of harassment concerns and failed to investigate.
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, disputes that interpretation, stating:
“A simple read of the newly released message exchanges make the truth abundantly clear.”
Reputational damage or emotional or both?
From a PR standpoint, neither star is winning. “Blake no longer occupies the clean moral high ground,” said crisis expert Mark Borkowski. “Her messages suggest strategy, alliance-building and backstage choreography.”
At the same time, Baldoni’s reputation has taken a hit. “We now know he was strongly disliked by at least three actresses on set,” Bloom said.
The Gossip Girl alum, who is seeking $500 million in damages and claims $161 million in lost earnings, is reportedly worried about her image in the industry. “Blake does worry about the industry’s perception of her after this,” a source said.
Baldoni, on the other hand, is said to be exhausted. “It’s difficult to read about people he thought he had good relationships with, saying bad things about him,” said a source close to the actor.
In legal issues… ‘No one leaves clean’
Lively has been keeping a low profile with her family, while Reynolds – whose own scathing texts calling Baldoni “a thoroughbred, predatory fraudster” were also unsealed — remains firmly in her corner.
“If anything, Ryan feels like he wasn’t angry enough,” his rep said.
Industry insiders agree that the spectacle has gone too far. “Both parties are shooting themselves in the foot,” says PR expert Steven Cuoco.
Or, as Borkowski puts it: “It’s no longer a story about right and wrong. It’s about power, proximity, and what happens when private grievance collides with celebrity scale. No one leaves clean.”