Actor-director Justin Baldoni has filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist, alleging undue influence over the production of It Ends With Us. Baldoni claims that Lively used her connections with Reynolds and Taylor Swift to pressure him into accepting significant rewrites of a crucial “rooftop scene” in the film.
In his 179-page lawsuit, Baldoni details how Lively rewrote the scene in which her character, Lily Bloom, meets his character, Ryle Kincaid. Initially reluctant, Baldoni eventually agreed to review the changes. He recalls receiving a text from Lively after his initial resistance, saying, “Your reaction didn’t feel great to me, Ryan, or Taylor.”
Baldoni claims he was later invited to Lively and Reynolds’ penthouse in New York City, where Swift was present. During the meeting, Swift and Reynolds reportedly praised Lively’s revisions, which Baldoni felt were subtle coercion. After reviewing the script, Baldoni texted Lively, “I really love what you did. It really does help a lot… And I would have felt that way without Ryan or Taylor.”
Lively responded by likening herself to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones, saying, “I happen to have a few dragons… because my dragons also protect those I fight for.”
The lawsuit also challenges Lively’s prior sexual harassment allegations, which Baldoni denies.
