‘It Ends With Us’ Lawsuit Update: Blake Lively Rejects Justin Baldoni’s Motion to Dismiss
The legal war surrounding the production of “It Ends With Us” shows no signs of cooling down. On Thursday morning, attorneys for Blake Lively filed a blistering opposition to Justin Baldoni’s recent motion to dismiss her lawsuit. The filing makes it abundantly clear that the actress intends to see this case through to a trial, accusing her director and co-star of attempting to dodge accountability for what she describes as a toxic and hostile work environment.
Lively’s legal team didn’t mince words in the 72-page document. They argued that Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, are trying to deny Lively her right to a trial by minimizing serious allegations. The motion accuses the defendants of throwing the kitchen sink at Lively’s claims of sexual harassment on set for “It Ends With Us” and retaliation in a desperate bid to shield themselves from a jury. This aggressive legal stance comes just weeks after Baldoni’s team characterized Lively’s complaints as a collection of “minor grievances” that didn’t warrant a lawsuit.
Allegations of a Hostile Workplace
At the heart of the dispute is the environment on the set of “It Ends With Us”, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s massive bestseller. Blake Lively alleges that the workplace was far from the professional setting one would expect on a major production. She said to The Wrap that Baldoni and his inner circle created an “objectively hostile” atmosphere on “It Ends With Us”. When complaints were raised, Lively’s team claims the studio abandoned its own policies and refused to conduct proper investigations into the concerns.
The power dynamic on set is a crucial element of Lively’s argument. While she is undeniably a movie star, her lawyers emphasized that during filming, Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath held the real cards. They were her bosses, controlling her schedule, her salary, and the daily management of the set. It is said on Deadline that the filing suggests that this consolidation of power allowed them to “act with a certain degree of impunity’ and cover the other’s misdeeds”, while allegedly subjecting Lively to harassment and then retaliating when she pushed back.
The Accusation of a Calculated Smear Campaign
Beyond the on-set behavior on “It Ends With Us”, a significant portion of the legal drama focuses on the aftermath of the film’s release. Lively’s lawsuit accuses Justin Baldoni and his PR team of orchestrating a sophisticated smear campaign designed to destroy her reputation. The narrative that emerged in the press, painting Lively as a bully who hijacked the creative direction of “It Ends With Us,” was, according to her lawyers, a calculated deflection strategy.
The Thursday filing argues that the defendants engaged in a strategy of Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. By feeding favorable stories to outlets like People Magazine and leveraging media connections, Baldoni’s camp allegedly tried to transform Lively from a victim of workplace harassment into the villain of the story. Her attorneys state that this campaign was a direct form of retaliation against a woman who simply wanted a safe place to work, rather than a valid defense against harassment claims.
Collateral Damage and Emotional Fallout
The ugliness of the legal battle has cast a long shadow over the success of “It Ends With Us”. Colleen Hoover, the author whose personal family history inspired the story, recently expressed deep sadness over how the controversy has eclipsed the work itself. Colleen Hoover, throughout this whole situation, has been very upset, and now thinking of the book gives her PTSD. She lamented that the real people involved have been hurt, noting that the lawsuit has fundamentally overshadowed the film’s message about domestic abuse survivors.
Hoover’s reaction highlights the human cost of this high-profile feud. What was meant to be a career-defining adaptation has turned into a source of pain for the creator. She noted that the aftermath of “It Ends With Us” has been, in some ways, more painful to witness than the past trauma involving her father that inspired the book. It’s a stark reminder that beneath the court documents and millions of dollars in potential damages, real relationships and reputations are being fractured.
What Lies Ahead for the Cast
As it stands, the case is barreling toward a courtroom showdown. A trial date has already been tentatively set for March 9, 2026. This timeline suggests that the cloud hanging over the cast of “It Ends With Us” will remain for quite some time. Justin Baldoni has already suffered a legal setback; his $400 million defamation countersuit against Blake Lively was tossed out of court last month after he failed to file an amended complaint by the deadline.
Now, the pressure is on the judge to decide whether Lively’s sexual harassment claims have enough merit to proceed. If the judge sides with Lively and rejects Baldoni’s dismissal request, the resulting trial could expose every detail of the production’s troubled history. For now, Blake Lively remains steadfast in her demand for accountability, refusing to let the narrative be rewritten without a fight.
