why is blake lively suing justin baldoni

Blake Lively is suing Justin Baldoni over what she alleges was sexual harassment and a coordinated smear/retaliation campaign tied to their work together on the film “It Ends With Us.”

What Blake Lively claims

According to court filings and news reports, Lively’s lawsuit says Baldoni and his team engaged in serious misconduct around the film’s production and the fallout afterward.

Key points from her side include:

• She alleges sexual harassment by Baldoni during the period they worked on “It Ends With Us.”

• She claims Baldoni and associates then tried to discredit and retaliate against her after she raised concerns, including damaging narratives about her motives and behavior.

• Lively says this alleged campaign hurt her career, her ability to get roles and producing deals, and caused major financial losses to her brands (including her haircare and beverage businesses).

• She is reportedly seeking very high damages (described in coverage as well over one hundred million dollars, and close to half a billion in some reports, once all claimed harms are totaled).

In short, from Lively’s perspective, the lawsuit is about workplace harassment plus a long-running retaliation and PR war that she says severely harmed her reputation and business.

What Justin Baldoni says in response

Baldoni has strongly denied Lively’s allegations and has argued in his own filings and public comments that her lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law.

Coverage of his position highlights that he:

• Denies sexual harassment and maintains that Lively’s claims are unprovable or exaggerated.

• Argues that the huge financial damages she lists are speculative and not legally recoverable.

• Claims that Lively is trying to spin events to gain or protect creative control and public sympathy around “It Ends With Us.”

• Previously filed a massive countersuit (around $400 million) saying Lively and her team pushed a false narrative and destroyed his reputation, but that case was later dismissed by a judge after he missed a key deadline to amend it.

So while Lively’s case is still moving forward, Baldoni’s big countersuit was formally ended by the court, though he has continued to challenge her claims in both legal filings and media coverage.

Where things stand now

Recent timelines show that:

• Lively’s main lawsuit against Baldoni and related parties is still active, and she has filed an amended complaint with additional alleged evidence and corroboration.

• A trial in federal court is currently scheduled for March 9, 2026, in New York, with the judge warning both sides about litigating too much in the press.

• Lively’s team has also moved to recover attorneys’ fees and potentially extra damages related to what they call abusive litigation by Baldoni’s side.

This means the legal battle is ongoing, and more details may emerge as filings, evidence, and testimony become public in the lead‑up to trial.

How forums and social media are talking about it

Online forums and gossip spaces have zeroed in on leaked or summarized text messages, PR strategy documents, and speculation about the power dynamics between the two stars.

Common angles you’ll see discussed:

• Whether Lively’s allegations reflect a broader pattern, since her amended complaint says other women were uncomfortable and complained about Baldoni too.

• Debates over those PR and text exchanges: some readers see them as proof of a deliberate smear campaign; others say they look like standard crisis‑management planning.

• Fans arguing about motives: is this primarily about safety and accountability on set, or about creative control and money around a big franchise‑type film?

Because so much of the online conversation mixes real filings with speculation and commentary, it’s worth treating forum claims cautiously until they’re backed by court documents or reputable reporting.

TL;DR: Blake Lively is suing Justin Baldoni because she says he sexually harassed her during “It Ends With Us” and then led a retaliatory, reputation‑damaging campaign that cost her huge sums in career and brand deals; Baldoni denies this, calls her claims unproven and her damages inflated, and his own giant countersuit has already been dismissed while her main case is still headed toward a 2026 trial.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.