What Really Happened With the Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Full Complaint

The tension on the set of It Ends With Us didn’t just stay in the editing room. It spilled over into a federal courtroom. By now, you’ve probably seen the headlines about a "feud," but the actual legal documents paint a much darker picture than just two stars who didn't get along during a press tour.

When Blake Lively filed her 179-page complaint against Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, she wasn't just complaining about creative differences. She was alleging a pattern of behavior that turned a movie about surviving domestic violence into a real-world nightmare for the people making it.

Honestly, the details are messy. You have allegations of sexual harassment on one side and claims of "creative hijacking" and a $400 million defamation countersuit on the other. It’s a lot to wade through.

The Specifics of the Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Full Complaint

Lively’s lawsuit, initially filed with the California Civil Rights Department before moving to federal court in New York, targets more than just Baldoni. It names producer Jamey Heath, Wayfarer Studios, and even specific PR crisis managers.

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According to the blake lively justin baldoni full complaint, the environment on set was "hostile" from early on. But what does that actually mean in legal terms?

Lively alleges that Baldoni and Heath engaged in "disturbing behavior," which included:

• Discussing their own sexual experiences and "pornography addiction" in front of her.
• Pressuring her to reveal intimate details about her own life.
• Showing her and other crew members unsolicited graphic images, including a video of Heath’s wife giving birth.
• Making non-consensual comments about her body, specifically her weight after she had recently given birth.

There is also a very strange, specific allegation about Baldoni claiming to "speak to" Lively’s deceased father. In a movie where the emotional stakes are already sky-high, these kinds of personal boundary-crossings reportedly made the set feel unsafe.

The Infamous "All-Hands" Meeting

One of the most revealing parts of the complaint describes a meeting on January 4, 2024. This wasn't just a casual chat. Lively brought her husband, Ryan Reynolds, as her representative. They presented a list of 30 issues—later narrowed down to 17 specific "protections"—that Lively demanded before filming could resume after the SAG-AFTRA strike.

These protections included things that sound like they should be standard: no more improvised kissing, no more adding unscripted sex scenes, and a requirement that Baldoni and Heath stop touching Lively or other female crew members without consent.

The "Bury Anyone" Smear Campaign

The lawsuit takes a sharp turn when it moves from the set to the press tour. Lively argues that Baldoni and his team knew she was going to go public with her harassment claims. To get ahead of it, she alleges they hired a high-powered crisis PR firm to "destroy" her reputation.

The complaint includes subpoenaed text messages that look pretty damning. In one exchange, a PR executive allegedly wrote, "You know we can bury anyone."

Lively’s team argues that the public backlash she faced—the "wear your florals" controversy and the "tone-deaf" interviews—wasn't just organic internet anger. They claim it was a "carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme" designed to make her look like the villain before she could file her suit.

Baldoni’s Counter-Strike: A "Trap" and $400 Million

Justin Baldoni hasn’t just stayed quiet. His legal team, led by Bryan Freedman, has called these allegations "categorically false" and "intentionally salacious."

In January 2026, newly unsealed texts from Baldoni to his former agent at WME revealed his side of the story. On December 30, 2023—just days before that big "all-hands" meeting—Baldoni vented that Lively was "setting me up for a trap."

He claimed Lively refused to use a body double for sex scenes, which he found "ridiculous" because she then insisted he use one. He described the production as a "gigantic clusterf---" where he was giving Lively "95% of what she wants for peace," but she was still "rewriting the writer and director."

Baldoni’s own $400 million lawsuit alleged that Lively and Reynolds used "extortion" and "defamation" to push him out of his own movie. He claims she threatened to boycott the film's promotion if her version of the movie—the one edited by Deadpool & Wolverine editor Shane Reid—wasn't the one released in theaters.

What the Courts Have Decided So Far

The legal landscape has shifted rapidly over the last few months.

1. Dismissals: In June 2025, a judge dismissed Baldoni’s initial $400 million defamation claim against Lively and Reynolds.
2. Withdrawals: Lively withdrew two of her specific claims against Baldoni in June 2025, though the core harassment and retaliation suit remains active.
3. The Trial: A trial date for the remaining claims in the blake lively justin baldoni full complaint is currently set for March 9, 2026.

The judge has already warned both legal teams to stop "litigating in the press," fearing that the constant leaks of unsealed texts and emails will make it impossible to find an unbiased jury.

Why This Matters Beyond Hollywood

This case is a messy example of what happens when creative control and workplace safety collide. It raises big questions about "authorship" in film. When does a lead actor’s "collaboration" become "hijacking"? And when does a director’s "artistic vision" cross the line into a "hostile work environment"?

How to Follow the Case Safely

If you're following the updates, be careful about what you read on social media.

• Check the source: Many "leaked" details on TikTok or Reddit are stripped of the context provided in the full 179-page document.
• Look for unsealed documents: The most accurate information comes from the actual court filings, not PR statements.
• Understand the nuance: It’s possible for a set to be both a creative battleground and a place where genuine harassment occurred; one doesn't necessarily disprove the other.

Keep an eye out for more unsealed depositions as we get closer to the March trial date. The "Buckingham Palace" deposition—where Baldoni discussed Lively’s New York penthouse—is likely just the beginning of what will be a very public, very expensive day in court.

Next steps for staying informed: You can monitor the New York Federal Court docket for the latest motions or follow legal analysts who specialize in entertainment law for a breakdown of the "privilege" and "hearsay" arguments currently stalling the discovery phase.