The new lawsuit comes just weeks after Baldoni sued the New York Times for their article published detailing an alleged “smear campaign” that Baldoni, crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, and PR relations executive Jennifer Abel constructed against Lively.
Lively also filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, which ultimately led to Baldoni reportedly being dropped by his management, William Morris Endeavor.
Now Baldoni is suing for claims of extortion and defamation and is requesting $400m USD ($644 million AUD) in damages from Lively.
In the 179-page complaint, filed on January 16 2025, Baldoni claims that Lively “stole Wayfarer’s movie, hijacked Wayfarer’s premiere, destroyed Plaintiff’s personal and professional reputations and livelihood, and aimed to drive Plaintiffs out of business entirely.”
He has also accused his co-star, Lively, of using her husband, Reynolds, and pop superstar best friend, Swift, to assert control over the production of the film.
Baldoni’s complaint details that tensions rose early on in the pre-production stages of the film when Lively allegedly asked if she could “take a pass” at writing the rooftop scene in It Ends With Us, in which the two main characters meet for the first time.
Baldoni outlined his reluctance to hand control of the “pivotal scene” over to Lively “rather than a union screenwriter” but allegedly felt he had no choice but to agree.
Lively's draft was allegedly "dramatically different" than what Baldoni had written.
Baldoni claims that he was invited to Lively’s New York City penthouse, where Reynolds and “a famous, and famously close, friend” of the couple were present, "who launched into enthusiastic praise for Lively's version of the scene."
Baldoni perceived this as pressure that he needed to comply with Lively’s direction.
Following this meeting, Baldoni texted Lively, writing, “I really love what you did. It does he[l]p a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor).”
In the same text thread, Lively signed off with a reference to Game of Thrones protagonist Daenerys Targaryen.
“... I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really, we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine,” it read.
Baldoni noted in the complaint that “the message could not have been clearer.”
Baldoni believes that he was “not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s “dragons,” two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things difficult for him.”
Baldoni’s lawsuit also addresses allegations Lively made in her complaint filed in December, in which she accuses Baldoni of initiating a smear campaign against her after she accused him of sexual harassment during the shooting of ‘It Ends With Us’.
Lively claimed that Baldoni made her feel uncomfortable on several occasions by allegedly making sexually suggestive remarks, including speaking about his past porn addiction.
Baldoni denies these allegations.
