Despite It Ends With Us hitting theaters back in August of 2024, the drama surrounding the book to screen adaptation is showing no signs of slowing down. While the movie can be streamed with a Netflix subscription, the legal situation surrounding the film also a saga. Blake Lively's lawsuit started a long legal saga, and most recently Justin Baldoni's former agent claimed equated the Gossip Girl actress' behavior on set with extortion. Let's break it all down.
After Lively made a complaint about Wayfarer Studios, Justin Baldoni filed his own defamation suit, and the pair of It Ends With Us stars have been battling in court ever since. Us Weekly reports that Baldoini's former agent Danny Greenberg testified about the feud, claiming that Lively's pressure on the studio and the director felt like "extortion" to him. He later clarified his comments, saying;
My use of the word extortion there was referencing just cumulative behavior that both the studio and [production company Wayfarer Studios] and Justin was having to manage.
While Greenberg didn't allege that Lively was guilty of actual criminal extortion, he thought that word was appropriate for the way he claims the actress tried to influence the overall story of It Ends With Us. Still, I have to assume these comments are going to quickly go viral.
Since last year there were rumors that Blake Lively tried to seize creative control of the movie, despite her co-star Justin Baldoni being the actual director. In response to these latest comments making their way online, Lively's reps issued a statement to Us Weekly, which reads:
The court already dismissed their so-called ‘taking over a movie’ claim, and this cherry-picked deposition quote from Baldoni’s prior agent before he was dropped from WME adds nothing new. In fact, the court’s dismissal even assumed their allegations were true for the sake of argument — and still held that they don’t amount to a valid claim under the law. That’s what matters, because this is a legal process, not a click-bait one.
Well, they certainly didn't mince words. Despite this new quote making its way around online, Lively's reps seem to be steadfast in her innocence. And this comment points out a few key details to the ongoing legal saga, including how Baldoni's defamation suit was tossed out in June. But that seemingly hasn't discourage the actor/director from continuing to fight in court.
The comments from Blake Lively's reps continue with a bold allegation regarding why Baldoni's former agent's comments are being used now. It reads:
This is just a recycled distraction that has nothing to do with the actual sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit Baldoni and the Wayfarer Defendants are facing.
This back and forth has been happening for well over a year now, and there's no indication as to when Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal saga will reach its conclusion. One can only imagine just how much these stars have spent on legal fees so far.
It Ends With Us is streaming on Netflix now. Lively has some exciting upcoming projects coming on the 2026 movie release list and beyond, while Baldoni doesn't have any future credits listed on his IMDb.
