Inside Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's Courtroom Clash: Every Twist You Missed

So, what started as a romantic drama turned into a multi-year legal pileup involving Blake Lively, her It Ends With Us director/costar Justin Baldoni, multiple studios and PR shops, and half of Hollywood ’s A‑list getting subpoena-adjacent. It is sprawling, messy, occasionally petty, and sometimes genuinely alarming. Below is the cleanest, straightest version of the whole thing I can give you — with the dates, filings, subpoenas, walk-backs, rescinded awards, and yes, Marvel ’s 'Nicepool' detour — all in one place.

Quick scene-setter: By late 2024, Lively had filed an administrative complaint in California accusing Baldoni of harassment and running a behind-the-scenes reputation war against her. Baldoni publicly denied everything and answered with lawsuits of his own. The studio backed her. The union backed her. His agency dropped him. And the paperwork never stopped.

'This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.'

Key players you’ll see pop up: Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds, her friend Taylor Swift (mostly dragged in by others), costars Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer, author Colleen Hoover, Sony (the distributor), SAG-AFTRA, a rotating cast of PR pros, The New York Times, and, unexpectedly, Marvel.

The timeline, with the receipts

1. (December 21, 2024) The New York Times reports Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department accusing Justin Baldoni of harassment and creating a hostile environment on It Ends With Us. Lively says a meeting addressing that atmosphere included her husband Ryan Reynolds. Her asks at that meeting are granular: stop showing nude videos/images to her; no more talk of Baldoni’s alleged past pornography addiction; no sex-life boasting in front of cast and crew; no commentary on anyone’s genitals or her weight; no invoking her late father; and no adding sex acts or climaxes beyond the script she approved. She also alleges Baldoni’s team planned a reputational 'social manipulation' push — citing a PR text about wanting 'to feel like [Lively] can be buried.'

2. (May 29 & June 8, 2023 context inside that complaint) Lively references another actress on the film lodging a sexual harassment complaint over 'gross' and 'unwanted comments.' After Baldoni, per Lively, acknowledged concerns and said he would adjust, that actress later told Lively she couldn’t speak to Baldoni outside of scenes; Baldoni then allegedly became suspicious of Lively’s friendship with her. Lively also alleges Baldoni made demeaning and sexist remarks and talked about sex without consent (which he denies).

3. (Same day, December 21, 2024) Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman dismisses all of it as a PR rehab attempt, says Lively was the one making demands and threats — including threatening not to show up or promote — and blames her for release woes.

4. (Exhibits) Taylor Swift gets mentioned for the first time in Lively’s filing via Baldoni-side documents: an August 2024 crisis email flags overlap with Swift’s fanbase; another 'scenario planning' doc toys with planting stories about 'weaponization of feminism' and invokes Swift as an example used to 'bully' enemies. Yes, that was in writing.

5. (December 21, 2024) WME, one of Hollywood’s power agencies, drops Baldoni as a client in the immediate fallout. Lively remains with WME.

6. (December 23, 2024; note: some reporting misprinted 2025 here, but context makes it 2024) Vital Voices rescinds a 'Voices of Solidarity' award it had just given Baldoni on December 9, saying the communications revealed in Lively’s complaint alone run counter to their values.

7. (December 23, 2024) New Baldoni statement: his lawyer says the crisis firm TAG PR acted like any crisis shop would when 'threatened by two extremely powerful people.' He adds the plan proved unnecessary because audiences allegedly reacted organically to Lively’s 'distasteful' promo. He also accuses the Times of publishing cherry-picked private texts, playing into Lively’s 'dubious PR tactics.'

8. (December 23, 2024) Sony Pictures publicly backs Lively’s work on the film and condemns reputation attacks without naming Baldoni.

   'We fully and firmly reiterate that support today. Further, we strongly condemn any reputational attacks on her. Any such attacks have no place in our business or in a civil society.'

9. (December 23, 2024) SAG-AFTRA applauds Lively’s request for an intimacy coordinator and her decision to speak up, calling retaliation illegal and wrong.

10. (December 24, 2024) Jenny Slate, Lively’s costar, publicly supports her and calls the alleged PR campaign against Lively 'dark' and 'disturbing.'

11. (December 28, 2024) Freedman promises countersuits that will 'shock everyone.'

12. (Late December 2024) Baldoni files a $250 million defamation suit against The New York Times over its story 'We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,' naming himself, Wayfarer Studios, his publicists, producers Jamey Heath and Steve Sarowitz, and others as plaintiffs. He accuses the Times of libel and false light and claims the paper leaned on Lively’s 'self-serving' narrative while ignoring contradictory evidence.

13. (December 31, 2024) The Times stands by its work, says it reviewed thousands of documents and gave Baldoni’s team a chance to correct specifics; they chose not to engage beyond a joint email. It also corrects a timing claim in Baldoni’s filing.

14. (December 31, 2024) Lively’s spokesperson calls Baldoni’s Times lawsuit 'obviously false' in framing and announces she has now filed her own federal suit in the Southern District of New York for sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, invasion of privacy, emotional distress, lost wages, and more against Baldoni, Wayfarer, and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.

15. (January 2, 2025) Freedman tells NBC News he will countersue Lively and release all their texts; denies any smear plan, saying Baldoni never wanted to hurt her.

16. (January 7, 2025) Lively’s lawyers say this is not a 'feud' or 'he said/she said' and call out classic victim-blaming playbooks. Freedman replies: Lively’s side cherry-picked and leaked documents; 'we have all the receipts!'

17. (January 14, 2025) The 'Nicepool' angle: Freedman sends a litigation hold to Disney CEO Bob Iger and Marvel’s Kevin Feige to preserve anything about whether Deadpool & Wolverine ’s 'Nicepool' was designed to mock Baldoni.

18. (January 16, 2025) Wayfarer Studios sues Lively, Reynolds, and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane for $400 million, accusing Lively of trying to make Baldoni the real-life villain to offset tone-deaf product promotion and of engineering a 'takeover strategy' on the movie. They say she pressured cast to freeze Baldoni out. A text Baldoni sent Lively referencing notes from 'Ryan and Taylor' on a rooftop scene is filed. Lively calls the countersuit a retaliatory DARVO chapter and says Sony asked her to oversee the cut they ultimately released. Freedman calls his case 'almost 200 pages' of incontrovertible fact. Baldoni, cornered at an airport, says he’s grateful for family and faith.

19. (January 21, 2025) Baldoni’s side releases 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage showing flirty, affectionate moments on set, arguing it undercuts Lively’s claims. Lively’s lawyers call it a stunt and say the touches were improvised, not consented to, with no intimacy coordinator; Baldoni was also her boss.

20. (January 27, 2025) Judge Lewis J. Liman in SDNY sets a trial for March 9, 2026 ( this date changes later).

21. (January 30, 2025) Lively and Reynolds move to dismiss the $400M countersuit. Both sides agree mediation is premature; the judge waives it as Lively readies an amended complaint.

22. (February 1, 2025) Baldoni’s team launches a website, thelawsuitinfo.com, posting a 224-page amended complaint and a 168-page timeline, plus alleged messages like Reynolds calling Baldoni a 'standup person' and a drafted apology from Reynolds/Lively about messy promo. Freedman says the site will show the truth with documents and videos.

23. (February 3, 2025) Freedman tells the court the defendants have been 'devastated financially and emotionally' since Lively’s claims; Lively’s lawyer says the toll has been devastating on her work and life, too.

24. (February 5, 2025) PR veteran Jed Wallace and his firm Street Relations sue Lively in Texas for millions, saying simply being linked to the alleged smear campaign harmed him. Lively’s team calls it transparent retaliation that will be dismissed.

25. (February 13, 2025) Lively subpoenas AT&T, Verizon, and T‑Mobile for phone records for Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, Wayfarer cofounder Steve Sarowitz, and publicists Abel and Nathan, to map who did what, when. Freedman calls it an overbroad fishing expedition.

26. (February 16, 2025) At SNL ’s 50th special, Reynolds jokes 'Great, why, what have you heard?' as the camera cuts to Lively. Freedman says he’s never seen a spouse joke about sexual harassment; he’s surprised.

27. (February 18, 2025) Lively files an amended complaint in New York alleging other women felt uncomfortable around Baldoni and that Wayfarer ran a sham inquiry because Baldoni was still in the mix. She says Sony spoke to Baldoni; he promised to adjust, then instead hired crisis and 'digital manipulation' experts to run a smear plan. Freedman calls it underwhelming hearsay from unnamed people and promises depositions will be enlightening.

28. (February 20, 2025) Lively and Reynolds ask for stronger protective orders citing violent threats aimed at them and supporters. Baldoni’s side condemns threats toward anyone and says people on their side suffered doxxing and visits to homes with kids after addresses were leaked.

29. (February 20, 2025) Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane asks the court to remove her company Vision PR from Baldoni’s countersuit, calling it smoke and mirrors.

30. (February 25, 2025) Baldoni moves to block Lively’s proposed 'Attorney’s Eyes Only' protective tier, arguing she’s trying to hide relevant discovery and rehab her image. Lively’s counsel fires back, calls Baldoni’s letter callous toward basic harassment protections and says online creators are parroting Wayfarer framing.

31. (February 28, 2025) Lively hires crisis strategist Nick Shapiro (ex-CIA deputy chief of staff) to advise on legal communications.

32. (March 13, 2025) Judge Liman partially grants Lively’s protective order, restricting categories like mental health and security information. Lively’s side calls it necessary to avoid intimidation and keep discovery flowing. Freedman says the narrow protections are fine and not what they seek anyway.

33. (March 18–21, 2025) Reynolds moves to be dismissed, arguing Baldoni can’t point to anything he said publicly that was defamatory and that private use of the word 'predator ' isn’t defamation if it reflects belief. Freedman says Reynolds helped strong-arm WME and smear Baldoni. Lively files her own dismissal under California’s AB 933 sexual harassment privilege and anti-SLAPP protections; Freedman calls it an abuse of the system. Baldoni amends to add publicist Stephanie Jones, accusing her of taking a partner’s work phone and handing communications to Team Lively; Jones’s side says Baldoni’s camp is just smearing her for suing them first.

34. (April 3 & 10, 2025) Baldoni opposes dropping Reynolds; Reynolds’s rep says Baldoni still can’t specify the 'who/what/how' of defamation. Lively’s attorneys accuse Baldoni of 'scorched earth' litigation aimed at gutting legal protections for women; Freedman says Lively tried to extort and manipulate, and they’ll keep fighting in court.

35. (April 29, 2025) Marvel asks to quash Baldoni’s subpoena and protect its confidential franchise plans about 'Nicepool' and Baldoni references. Freedman says Marvel wouldn’t engage on scope and just asked what they 'really' wanted.

36. (May 6, 2025) Wayfarer Foundation, Baldoni’s nonprofit, announces it’s shutting down; it will honor grants while winding down. Cofounder Steve Sarowitz says his personal philanthropy continues.

37. (May 8–11, 2025) Lively’s lawyer says she will testify at trial and warns there’s no reason to subpoena Swift or Reynolds over creative choices. The next day, Team Baldoni subpoenas Swift anyway. Swift’s rep says she licensed 'My Tears Ricochet' like 19 other artists, never set foot on set, didn’t make edits or notes, and only saw the film weeks after it opened. Baldoni returns to Instagram for Mother ’s Day.

38. (May 22, 2025) Baldoni’s side withdraws Swift subpoenas after getting info voluntarily. Lively’s team calls it a pattern of exploiting Swift’s name for attention and says, push-comes-to-shove in court, they backed off.

39. (June 9–10, 2025) Judge Liman dismisses Baldoni’s $400M countersuit and his Times case. He allows Baldoni to refile some claims by June 23. Lively calls it a total victory and launches an IG post about retaliatory lawsuits. Freedman says four of seven claims were invited to be amended and insists the core of Lively’s case is false.

40. (June 24, 2025) Baldoni declines to amend, saying they’ll focus on defending against Lively’s suit through discovery.

41. (June 13, 2025; note: one report mistakenly labeled this 2024) Lively asks for a new protective order to shut down Baldoni’s 'continuing demands' about her communications with Swift, saying they haven’t produced what they claimed to get from Swift. Reports also surface that Lively plans to subpoena Candace Owens, Andy Signore, and Perez Hilton. Owens says she hasn’t received anything and will discuss it on her podcast if/when she does.

42. (July 16, 2025) A New York judge tosses Lively’s claims against Texas-based PR exec Jed Wallace for lack of personal jurisdiction (not on the merits). Lively’s team says they’ll consider other venues.

43. (July 31–August 8, 2025) Lively sits for her deposition in NYC with Baldoni present. Days later, her side accuses Baldoni of trying to force the entire 292-page transcript into the record before review. Freedman denies any leak and says if a leak happened it could have come from Lively’s camp. Judge Liman bars using transcript excerpts until finalized.

44. (August 12–19, 2025) Team Baldoni asks the court to compel text productions from costar Isabela Ferrer, alleging Lively pressured her to avoid him; Ferrer’s lawyers accuse Baldoni of harassment and ask for sanctions. Baldoni’s side says they simply want docs missed by an earlier subpoena.

45. (August 25, 2025) The judge unseals exhibits: PR chatter about whether a troll comment aimed at Lively was authentic; a Jamey Heath text mentioning a $9 million 'crisis management team' and the need to 'manage every land mine.'

46. (September 2025) With Baldoni’s countersuit gone, Lively seeks to claw back multi-million legal fees and damages for alleged abuse of the courts, citing California’s Protecting Survivors from Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act (AB 933). Baldoni’s side says it doesn’t apply.

47. (September 11–13, 2025) Baldoni’s team tells the court Swift 'agreed to appear' for a deposition in late October. Swift’s lawyers correct the record: she never agreed; she just said if forced, she could be available that week. Lively’s team points out discovery’s been open for months; Baldoni waited too long. The judge denies any extension.

48. (September 15, 2025) Baldoni brings on Alexandra Shapiro (who has repped Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried) to his legal roster.

49. (October 1, 2025) The New York Times sues Wayfarer under New York’s anti-SLAPP law, seeking at least $150,000 in damages over Baldoni’s dismissed defamation suit. Freedman says they won’t cave to power brokers, win or lose.

50. (October 17, 2025) Depositions roll on: Jenny Slate, Isabela Ferrer, and author Colleen Hoover sit for questioning.

51. (October 23, 2025) Lively accuses Baldoni’s side of hiding the ball in discovery and asks for sanctions, claiming the retaliation campaign was executed as planned and relevant material was destroyed or withheld. Baldoni’s camp doesn’t immediately comment.

52. (November 3, 2025) Lively asks the judge to sanction producer Jamey Heath for allegedly failing to turn over the birth video he showed her on set — claiming the 3-minute clip produced isn’t the same fully nude at-home birth video she saw without warning. She wants all related footage within three days and to bar Heath from testifying about it.

53. (November 2025) Reports say Baldoni 'missed' an amend deadline; his lawyer clarifies they intentionally did not amend to preserve appeal rights and are focused on Lively’s claims.

54. (November 5, 2025) The judge dismisses Lively’s claims against Jed Wallace (Texas jurisdiction issue) and also dismisses Wallace’s retaliatory claims against Lively. Lively’s camp notes every retaliatory suit against her has now been thrown out; the New York case against Baldoni et al. moves to trial.

55. (Unsealed in November 2025; originally filed July 2025) Lively says she’s suffered at least $161 million in damages: roughly $56.2M in past/future acting/speaking/endorsement earnings, $49M related to her beauty brand Blake Brown, $22M for her beverage brands Betty Buzz/Betty Booze, plus about $34M for reputational harm, among other costs. She lists likely witnesses with relevant info: Reynolds, Swift, Emily Blunt, Scooter Braun, Hugh Jackman, Gigi Hadid, and more.

56. (November–December 2025) Baldoni moves for summary judgment, calling Lively’s claims a 'litany of minor grievances' that don’t meet the severe/pervasive bar. Lively responds that the record evidence supports sending harassment and retaliation claims to a jury.

57. (December 2025) The trial is postponed to May 18, 2026, because Judge Liman has two criminal trials that take priority. He suggests both sides consider settling.

58. (December 22, 2025) One year after the first public reporting on Lively’s complaint, her lawyers say she has endured a billionaire-financed attempt to 'bury' her and remains resolute with her claims set for trial in May. Freedman thanks supporters and says they trust truth will prevail, adding perspective about bigger issues in the world.

59. (From Baldoni’s October 6, 2025 deposition; published January 2026) Baldoni says he had a prayer gathering the night before his depo and got a 'you’ll do great' pep talk from his publicist. He also claims Lively referred to her home office as 'Buckingham Palace' and preferred holding meetings there.

60. (January 12, 2026; a date in some reports showed 2025, but context places this in 2026) Baldoni objects to Lively’s bid to conceal names of celebrity friends and family (like Swift, Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, America Ferrera, Emily Blunt), arguing they’re already public and some were pulled in as advocates. Lively calls Reynolds an 'innocent third party.' Baldoni asks the court to deny most sealing requests.

61. (January 16, 2026) Lively adds attorney Sigrid McCawley (who represented Jeffrey Epstein survivors) to her team. Newly unsealed evidence shows Lively saying she felt humiliated filming the birth scene: she says Baldoni pushed for simulated nudity in a hospital setting, she lay in stirrups for hours with minimal coverage as nonessential crew walked by, and the actor playing the OB-GYN was a close friend of Baldoni’s — which amplified her discomfort. McCawley says the unsealed record contains testimony and contemporaneous messages from multiple women who worked with Baldoni, and that Wayfarer internally understood concerns as 'sexual harassment' in spring 2023 but sought to 'bury' them.

62. (January 20, 2026) Thousands of pages are unsealed ahead of a hearing, including cast testimony (Slate, Brandon Sklenar, Ferrer, Hoover), messages between Lively/Reynolds and celebs like Taylor Swift, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, plus evidence from Sony execs and Lively’s trainer.

63. (January 22, 2026) Baldoni’s team asks the judge to dismiss Lively’s suit entirely as trivial/petty; Lively’s lawyers say this is about women being safe and not punished at work. The judge takes it under advisement.

64. (February 11, 2026) Both attend a settlement conference in New York. Freedman says mediation was unsuccessful but doesn’t rule out a deal before trial.

65. (March 2026) Colleen Hoover, on 'Open Book With Jenna,' keeps things diplomatic: says it’s tough but easier to separate the litigation from the work; she’s proud of the film and everyone who made it, full stop.

66. (March 12, 2026) Lively formally opposes Baldoni’s November 2025 dismissal bid with a Second Circuit case citing that you don’t toss a case post-discovery just because you don’t love the complaint’s wording. Translation: we did the evidence phase — let a jury decide.

67. (March 26, 2026) Baldoni wins a one-week extension on pretrial filings (to April 10) and the final pretrial conference (to April 28). He argues Lively dumped 1,000+ exhibits and named 40+ witnesses; Lively calls this another slow-walk tactic and says she’s ready for trial. As of now, the May 18 start date stands.

Two extra bits that say a lot about how far this reached: Judge Liman said on the record he didn’t know who Lively or Baldoni were before this case; and yes, Marvel really did have to show up and tell a federal judge they shouldn’t have to reveal Deadpool franchise secrets because of a side-quest theory about 'Nicepool.' This thing has tentacles.