Blake Lively (a.k.a. The war takes place around the future film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us. On December 31, 2024, Lively ratcheted up the dispute by bringing a preemptive lawsuit in New York against the Coalition. She’s asking for an eye-popping $500 million in damages from Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios. Baldoni’s lawsuit, filed on January 16, 2025, seeks—incredibly—$400 million in damages. She accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist of extortion and defamation.
In June 2025, a federal judge threw out Baldoni’s lawsuit. Zooming forward to October of that year, the counterclaim had officially died its intended death. This litigation is still ongoing and affects the film adaptation. The cost/invitation analysis Both sides intensely litigate their competing merits in court.
The legal wrangling has drawn considerable media attention, especially regarding text messages exchanged between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift on April 12, 2023. In these communications, Lively was willing to be downright candid. She referred to Baldoni as “this doofus director of my movie” and she sort of called him “a clown.” In turn, Swift shot back, inquiring if everything was “in line” with the production.
Lively confirmed for Swift with a vigorous “Yessss! On the other side of the balance sheet, they noted that it would require a week’s notice before they could act. During their conversation, Lively mentioned sending Swift a script for feedback while she was on her way to her apartment because Baldoni was reportedly still present.
“If you get here w this doofus director of my movie is still here (i’ll be ushering him out), but hope he is still here) can you do me a huge favor.” – Blake Lively
Swift’s involvement came about in a different way. Lively first asked Swift to read the script and share her opinion. She emphasized the importance of Swift’s endorsement by saying, “So having the greatest living storyteller unknowingly echo to him how much you love what we’re doing… will go such a long way.” Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and the production team are alarmed by the ask. They claim that Lively told Swift to sign off on a new version of the script without reading it.
The broader context that has made Swift’s claims about the script so shocking has been contested by Lively. Lively’s well-heeled legal team filed extensive legal documents in court. They further cited an excerpt from a transcript of her July 30, 2025 deposition. This deposition is likely to be highly significant in shaping the ongoing litigation.
Amid this public spat, a New York Times article published on December 22, 2024, referenced a “Hollywood Smear Machine,” which Lively alluded to in her text messages with Swift. The phrase serves to highlight the extreme pressures that people in the entertainment industry are facing. They still have to concern themselves with public opinion and ongoing litigation.
“I think this b
