It Ends With Us hasn’t ended yet. The film was controversial from the start, with arguments over its source material’s depiction of domestic violence and whether or not star Blake Lively fit the lead role of Lily Bloom. Also, the costumes. And that was before it even came out.
Fans were quick to pick up on a rift between director and star Justin Baldoni and the rest of the cast. Then public opinion quickly turned against Lively as her tone-deaf marketing efforts fell flat (“Wear your florals!”), though they didn’t hamper the movie’s box-office success. At the same time, rumors spread that Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, had been too controlling over the film, with Lively reportedly commissioning her own edit of the final product. Meanwhile, Baldoni was being praised for centering domestic violence during his (noticeably solo) press ventures.
Four months after the film’s release, however, public sentiment took a drastic turn when Blake Lively sued Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment, accusing the actor of launching a PR smear campaign to destroy her reputation.
Here’s everything that has gone down, starting with the latest: A trial date has been set for March 2026.
February 2, 2025: As promised, Baldoni’s team sets up a website.
In early February, Baldoni’s team launches a website, which currently features an amended version of his legal complaint as well as a “timeline of relevant events.”
Among the new information shared in these documents is a statement Lively and Reynolds allegedly drafted amid the backlash to the film’s press tour in August 2024. According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the couple wanted Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and producer Jamey Heath to release the statement taking “accountability for the negative press toward Lively and Reynolds.”
Baldoni’s lawyers claim their client refused to sign the statement even though Lively and Reynolds told WME that “the gloves will come off” if he declined.