'It Ends With Us' dispute latest updates: Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal battle intensifies in pretrial hearing

At the first major court hearing in the legal battle between It Ends With Us stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman warned both sides to stop litigating their case in the media.

During the 90-minute session on Monday, Liman cautioned that if pretrial publicity continues, he may move up the trial date, which is currently set for March 9, 2026, according to Deadline.

Lively’s legal team pushed for a protective order against Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, accusing him of trying to sway public opinion with media statements. Freedman, meanwhile, alleged that Lively and Ryan Reynolds worked with the New York Times on a Dec. 21 exposé that portrayed Baldoni negatively.

Baldoni’s amended complaint, filed on Jan. 31, added the Times as a defendant in his $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds. During the hearing Freedman said they were willing to drop the separate $250 million lawsuit against the Times altogether.

Lively's attorney, Michael Gottlieb, told the court he received no notice that the Times was being added to the main case before it hit the media. Gottlieb also indicated that his team may file its own amended complaint, possibly introducing new claims.

The next key deadline in the case is March 11, when Lively’s lawyers are expected to formally submit their proposed protective order to limit further media disclosures from Baldoni’s team.

Lively, Reynolds and Baldoni did not attend the hearing.

Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for a number of things, one being civil extortion. The director alleges the couple launched a "campaign of extortion" to seize creative control of It Ends With Us. This is the claim that indirectly involves Taylor Swift.

In his 179-page lawsuit, Baldoni alleges Swift and Reynolds pressured him into using Lively's rewrite of the film's pivotal rooftop scene. The complaint includes texts in which Lively seemingly refers to the singer and her husband as her "dragons." It's important to note that Swift is not being sued, but she could get dragged to court if this legal battle continues.

First, a judge will decide if the civil extortion claim is "really valid," defamation attorney Jeff Lewis told Yahoo Entertainment.

"The civil extortion claim seemed kind of weak to me," Lewis said. "If it survives a pleading battle, meaning by the time of trial, there's still a civil extortion claim on the table, then yeah, [Swift is] a witness to this civil extortion. She may be deposed."

However, Lewis believes naming Swift in the lawsuit was a bit of a "distraction tactic" by Baldoni's legal team.

"It almost felt like a giant dump of confusing and conflicting information, which kind of is working," he said. "A normal complaint says on X date, somebody said something false about me. You don't cut and paste text messages and name-drop [that] Taylor Swift happened to be coming by. The only reason to do that is that you hope the press runs with it and it changes the narrative."

Defamation attorney Jeff Lewis told Yahoo Entertainment that the attempt by Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds to get Justin Baldoni's lawsuit tossed out is "pretty common." If the motion is denied, the war wages on.

"I would expect the aggressive lawyers here to really try to get all the disputes heard in one forum: one court, one judge, one jury," he said, adding, "It would be crazy to take this case [to trial], but I would've said the same thing about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard."

Lewis pointed out that "over 90% of cases settle out of court," and he thinks that's ultimately the best option.

"Is this going to settle in the first 15 minutes of the lawsuit, or is it going to settle as many cases do, on the courthouse steps right before a jury is sworn in," he explained. "I think they're gonna have to go a few rounds here in court — in terms of motions to dismiss, procedural motions — before these parties get real in terms of settlement."

If the case does go to trial, "some judge or some jury is going to have to call somebody a liar," Lewis continued."These accounts — this is not like somebody is misremembering," he said. "These are black-and-white, opposite recollections of what happened. And someone's lying."

A newly released account from Justin Baldoni’s legal team challenges Blake Lively’s depiction of a brief interaction involving a post-birth video shown to her by producer Jamey Heath.

According to Baldoni's amended complaint, the incident took place on May 23, 2023, during a lunch break as part of an ongoing discussion about a hospital birthing scene in It Ends With Us.

In his lawsuit, Baldoni claims that he suggested that Heath show Lively a personal video of his wife cradling their newborn after a home birth, believing it captured the emotional tone they aimed to portray. The complaint states that Heath "proceeded to show her one second" of the video before she asked if he had "permission" to share it, which he confirmed he did.

Lively then stated she would watch it later but never did. "This entire interaction between Heath and Lively lasted less than 30 seconds," according to Baldoni's complaint.

Baldoni’s team claims that Lively mischaracterized the interaction in her complaint, likening the one-second clip she saw to "pornography" and claiming it depicted a "fully nude woman with her legs spread apart."

According to Baldoni's complaint, "Heath’s wife remains covered with a towel for the duration of the video, submerged in water and holding her newborn."

Previously released text messages revealed that Justin Baldoni attempted to schedule a meeting between Blake Lively and an intimacy coordinator on April 21, 2023 — a meeting she allegedly declined, opting instead to consult with the coordinator on set during filming.

In her absence, Baldoni met with the intimacy coordinator himself, took detailed notes and later shared them with Lively during a meeting at her New York City apartment.

According to documents posted on Baldoni’s website this weekend, the notes included explicit terms provided by the intimacy coordinator, such as "orgasm" and "foreplay."

Baldoni’s legal team argues that these notes were later misrepresented in Lively’s complaint, which accuses him of discussing his personal sex life and inserting gratuitous intimate scenes involving her character. His attorneys claim this evidence undermines Lively’s allegations and demonstrates that their conversations were strictly professional.

"Ideally, these conversations would have taken place directly between Lively and the intimacy coordinator directly, as Baldoni had requested," the complaint reads. "However, Lively declined to meet with her, leaving Baldoni in the less than ideal position of having to relay these notes to Lively in her penthouse."

In his amended complaint, Justin Baldoni accuses Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively of "mocking and bullying" him through a character named "Nicepool" featured in the film Deadpool & Wolverine.

The lawsuit claims that the "Nicepool" scenes were added to the movie and filmed in January 2024, shortly after what Baldoni describes as an “ambush” at Reynolds and Lively’s apartment, during which Reynolds allegedly berated him and demanded an apology for things Baldoni claims he did not do.

According to the amended complaint, "Nicepool," played by Reynolds, was portrayed as a "vicious caricature of a 'woke' feminist" before meeting a violent end at the hands of "Ladypool," a character voiced by Lively.

Baldoni argues in the complaint that the character's dialogue — including inappropriate comments about a female character's postpartum body — along with references to an "intimacy coordinator" and a hairstyle resembling Baldoni's, were intentional jabs designed to ridicule him.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Justin Baldoni's lawyer claims Ryan Reynolds mocked actor in 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' vows to name him in lawsuit

Blake Lively's and Justin Baldoni’s legal teams will face off in a pretrial hearing on Monday, where a judge will weigh arguments over pretrial publicity and attorney conduct in their escalating legal battle.

Lively’s lawyers filed for a gag order on Jan. 23, accusing Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, of trying to sway public opinion by selectively leaking private texts and legal documents. The dispute escalated over the weekend when Baldoni’s team launched a website publishing messages and exchanges with Lively — before, during and after filming It Ends With Us — which they claim prove the working relationship was professional and amicable.

Baldoni’s legal team maintains that sharing the texts is necessary to challenge what they call a one-sided narrative from Lively.

A trial is currently set for March 2026.

Justin Baldoni's legal team has followed through on its plan to release private messages amid his legal battle with Blake Lively.

Over the weekend, a website was launched featuring alleged text exchanges between Baldoni, Lively and her husband, co-defendant Ryan Reynolds, aiming to refute Lively’s claims. The site links to a 168-page document, filed in court as part of Baldoni’s amended complaint, which outlines a “timeline of relevant events” before and after the filming of It Ends With Us.

Baldoni’s team insists the release is intended to provide transparency, arguing that the messages prove his interactions with Lively were professional and collaborative — contradicting her claims that he fostered a hostile work environment.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds will seek to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against them.

Ahead of a Feb. 3 hearing, Judge Lewis Liman asked for a letter indicating in one sentence if they intend to make a motion to dismiss the case, Variety reports. The couple’s attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb, said in a response filed on Jan. 30 that “the Lively-Reynolds Parties intend to move to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint.”

Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, a defendant in Baldoni’s lawsuit, also indicated plans to file a motion to dismiss.

Both sides also agreed to consolidate the two federal lawsuits. Lively sued her It Ends With Us director and co-star in December, alleging sexual harassment on the set and a retaliatory press campaign against her when she reported it. Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios countersued for defamation in December. Baldoni also claimed Lively and Reynolds pressured their mutual talent agency, WME, to drop him as a client, which WME has denied.

Baldoni’s side also told the judge on Jan. 30 that they want to depose Lively as soon as possible but said Lively’s team indicated she’ll refuse to let his lead attorney, Bryan Freedman, conduct the deposition due to “unspecified statements” he made. One of Baldoni's attorneys, Kevin Fritz, said in a filing that Lively does “not have the right to dictate which of their opponents’ attorneys may or may not take their deposition.”

That issue is expected to be addressed on Feb. 3, along with arguments around whether Freedman made prejudicial comments in the press that could taint a jury pool, which Lively is claiming.

The trial is scheduled to take place in March 2026.

Blake Lively filed a petition in a Texas state court on Jan. 21 seeking to depose Jed Wallace, a public relations consultant linked to her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni, so he can provide testimony in the case.

Although Wallace is named in Lively’s initial Dec. 20 complaint to the California Civil Rights Department, he is not a defendant in her federal case, filed Dec. 31. In that lawsuit, Lively accuses Wallace, who described himself as a “hired gun” with a “proprietary formula for defining artists and trends,” of orchestrating a social media smear campaign against her, per the Hollywood Reporter.

Reportedly retained by Baldoni and his company Wayfarer Studios, Lively claims that Wallace used digital platforms like Reddit to seed content undermining Lively, while defending Baldoni. She further claims this content was strategically fed to reporters to create viral narratives, ultimately influencing public opinion and encouraging online attacks.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal teams filed back-to-back letters on Monday.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lively’s lawyers accused Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, of planning to launch a website releasing selectively curated texts, emails and video evidence, arguing that it could mislead the public and taint the jury pool.

In response, Freedman fired back by defending the website as a transparent way to counter “provably false information” allegedly shared with the New York Times by Lively’s team. (Baldoni is suing the newspaper for $250 million in a separate libel lawsuit.)

"We will not be selective, we will not cherry-pick and we will not doctor text messages," Freedman's letter said. "If they want to unethically gag the truth by threatening to wield their power in Hollywood, we will fight it every step of the way. We are not scared of them, we will not be silenced by them. Defending ourselves is not retaliation, it is a human right."

A pretrial hearing is set for Feb. 3, where both sides can address the issue. A trial is set for March 2026.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Justin Baldoni sues New York Times for $250M over Blake Lively story

Leaked text messages and a lengthy voice note published by the Daily Mail on Monday offer new insight into the behind-the-scenes tensions between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

The exchanges centered on a pivotal rooftop scene rewritten by Lively, who last year credited her husband, Ryan Reynolds, as the writer. Reports suggest Baldoni initially gave a lukewarm response to the changes, leaving Lively disappointed and prompting her to go silent for several days.

According to Baldoni's lawsuit, Baldoni felt obligated to send Lively a text, followed by a voice note, apologizing and praising her revisions, calling them "really good" and saying they would "make the movie sing."

Their exchanges are now part of Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Lively.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are set to face off in court on March 9, 2026, following a court order issued by a New York federal judge, Lewis J. Liman, on Jan. 27.

Additionally, a pretrial conference originally scheduled for Feb. 12 has been moved to Feb. 3. It will address escalating tensions between both sides, including allegations from Lively’s legal team that Baldoni’s attorney is attempting to sway public opinion by threatening to release private texts between the two.

Lively’s team responded to Baldoni's threats by requesting a gag order, which would prevent Baldoni’s camp from using media tactics to influence the case.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were spotted with Lively's A Simple Favor 2 co-star Michele Morrone, marking the couple’s first public appearance since the news of their legal battle with Justin Baldoni broke in December.

In a post shared to Morrone's Instagram Stories on Sunday, the trio was seen sharing laughs during their New York City outing.

"Missed you guys! Love you!!" Morrone wrote alongside the image, which was later shared by Reynolds on his own Instagram.

Read more from People: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds hang with Michele Morrone in their first joint sighting since Justin Baldoni legal battle

Attorneys for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are pushing back against Justin Baldoni's legal team, who last week described their gag order request as "inflammatory" and "calamitous."

According to USA Today, the Lively-Reynolds legal team criticized Baldoni’s attorneys for engaging in what they called "extrajudicial conduct" by attacking Lively and Reynolds in the media.

"Making a complaint about sexual harassment and retaliation in a lawsuit, which is also a protected activity, is covered by the litigation privilege," the letter read. "On the other hand, relentlessly publicly attacking a plaintiff in a sexual harassment and retaliation case in the media and on social media is not a protected activity."

Lively's attorneys also denied that they'd ask for a gag order in the first place. "Requiring counsel to heed the ethical rules that bind them is not a gag order," they wrote. "It is a mechanism that would ensure the proceedings in this Court are not prejudiced by counsel’s conduct outside of the courtroom."

Justin Baldoni’s wife, Emily, made her first public statement about the It Ends With Us director since the legal battle with Blake Lively started in December.

“Happy birthday my love,” she posted to Instagram on Saturday, alongside a photo of the two kissing by the ocean while hugging and carrying their two kids Maiya, 9, and Maxwell, 7. “Celebrating the man, husband, and father that you are. I’d choose you again and again.”

Justin Baldoni called the request by Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for a gag order last week an "intimidation tactic."

In a letter filed on Jan. 23, Baldoni’s legal team called the request “inflammatory” and argued that their evidence, including leaked footage, is critical in its defense against Lively’s allegations of harassment and retaliation.

Baldoni’s team further stated in the letter that Lively's legal actions have been "calamitous" for Baldoni's public reputation.

Justin Baldoni’s legal team announced on Jan. 21 plans to launch a website to counter Lively’s allegations of behind-the-scenes misconduct.

Following the release of a video showing on-set interactions between Baldoni and Blake Lively — intended to refute claims made in Lively’s Dec. 20 sexual harassment complaint — Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman stated to People, “Justin Baldoni and team has nothing to hide, and this once more proves this.”

The statement also said, “This is what we will be continuing to show with the upcoming website containing all correspondence as well as relevant videos that quash her claims.”

Baldoni's attorneys did not say when they planned to launch the website.

Hollywood attorney and mediator Angela Reddock-Wright told Yahoo Entertainment that she was surprised there was no intimacy coordinator on set after seeing the raw footage that was released earlier this week.

"What is interesting is that no intimacy coordinators were present during this intimate dance scene — and according to Lively's lawyers — and should have been. They could have stepped in to see if Lively were comfortable and whether the scene followed the script," she told Yahoo.

The role of an intimacy coordinator on It Ends With Us is one of the many disputed allegations in Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's dueling lawsuits. Baldoni claimed that the actress "refused to meet" with one ahead of production. However, Lively specifically requested an intimacy coordinator be involved for all intimate scenes as one of her "protections" for returning to the set after a contentious January 2024 meeting. Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios signed off on that request.

Read more from the Hollywood Reporter: An intimacy coordinator’s take on that awkward ‘It Ends With Us’ video

Taylor Swift was indirectly mentioned in Justin Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and their PR team. Baldoni alleges that Reynolds, along with a “megacelebrity friend” believed to be Swift, pressured him to rewrite a pivotal rooftop scene in It Ends With Us.

The lawsuit further claims that Lively publicly credited Reynolds for the rewrite, sidelining Baldoni’s creative input. While Swift has not been named as a defendant, her possible involvement as a key influencer in the incident has drawn more attention to the case.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Taylor Swift dragged into Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against Blake Lively. Here's why.

One day after Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds filed a letter in court asking a judge to put a gag order in place to stop Baldoni’s lawyers from leaking damaging information to the press, legal experts are urging both parties to settle out of court.

“This entire episode is a case of he said, she said, and both actor and director stand to lose if things continue to escalate,” Hollywood attorney and mediator Angela Reddock-Wright told Yahoo Entertainment. “This entire matter needs to be settled instead of further getting out of hand.”

Meanwhile, defamation attorney Jeff Lewis expects them to go “a few rounds here in court” before they come close to a settlement.

“Is this going to settle in the first 15 minutes of the lawsuit or is it going to settle as many cases do on the courthouse steps right before a jury is sworn in,” he told Yahoo. “I think they're going to have to go a few rounds here in court — in terms of motions to dismiss, procedural motions — before these parties get real in terms of settlement.”

In response to leaked footage and threats of a website aimed at disproving Lively’s allegations, she and Reynolds filed a joint court letter on Jan. 21 requesting a gag order to prevent Baldoni’s legal team from engaging in what they called “improper conduct.”

According to E! News, the couple accused Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, of making “inflammatory written statements” and leaking “information” to the media.

Ryan Reynolds has been accused by Justin Baldoni of playing a central role in a campaign to damage the director’s reputation. In his lawsuit, Baldoni alleges that Reynolds acted as Lively’s representative during meetings with him and the film’s producers to negotiate production safeguards.

Additionally, Baldoni claims Reynolds exerted creative influence over the film, including rewriting a pivotal rooftop scene, which Lively later publicly credited to him. Baldoni argues that these actions, along with Reynolds’s involvement in alleged smear tactics orchestrated by Lively’s PR team, intentionally undermined his position and reputation.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Why is Justin Baldoni suing Ryan Reynolds along with Blake Lively?

An unedited clip, leaked by Justin Baldoni’s lawyers and published by the Daily Mail on Jan. 21, added a surprising twist to Blake Lively’s harassment allegations.

In her civil rights complaint, Lively claimed Baldoni dragged his lips down her neck during a silent dance scene. However, the leaked footage includes audio that seemingly challenges her account.

In the video, Baldoni is seen asking, “Am I getting beard on you?” and Lively jokingly replies, “I’m probably getting spray tan on you,” prompting laughter from both actors.

Baldoni then says, “It smells good,” prompting laughter. The clip also shows behind-the-scenes banter about lighting, choreography and their personal lives, painting a new picture of the interaction.

It's unclear when, but the book’s author deactivated her Instagram account amid the ongoing legal drama (though her X account still seems to be activated, for now).

The movie, based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, was directed by Baldoni and hit theaters in August 2024. Hoover had previously shared a supportive Instagram Story after Blake Lively filed her complaint in December.

August 2024: Rumors of tension surface during the press tour for It Ends With Us, with Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni notably absent from joint promotional events. Critics call out Lively for her tone during interviews, while Baldoni faces allegations of creating an uncomfortable work environment.

Dec. 20, 2024: Lively files a sexual harassment complaint, alleging misconduct by Baldoni on the set and retaliation by his production company.

Dec. 21, 2024: The New York Times publishes an exposé detailing Lively's claims, prompting Baldoni to deny the allegations.

Dec. 31, 2024: Baldoni files a $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times, accusing the publication of biased reporting. Lively counters with a federal lawsuit, claiming Baldoni’s team engaged in smear tactics.

Jan. 16, 2025: Baldoni files a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds and their public relations team, alleging defamation, civil extortion and a coordinated campaign to damage Baldoni's reputation.

Jan. 21, 2025: Lively and Reynolds file a letter to a judge requesting a gag order against Baldoni's lawyer that would prevent Baldoni’s legal team from engaging in what the couple called “improper conduct” and leaking information to the press.

Feb. 3: Pretrial conference date for both sides to address the gag order in front of a judge.

March 9, 2026: Trial date.