Why Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds May Still Be Dragged into Court Over Justin Baldoni Legal Drama

Blake Lively could yet be forced into a fresh round of legal turmoil over It Ends With Us, with court filings in California indicating that the actress, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and director Justin Baldoni may all be required to give sworn depositions in a related case involving Baldoni's former publicist.

For starters, Blake Lively's dispute with Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, began with a December 2024 sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit tied to their work on the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestseller It Ends With Us. Lively, now 38, alleged that after she raised concerns about harassment, Baldoni orchestrated a 'mean girl' smear campaign that damaged her career and cost her tens of millions in lost opportunities. Baldoni, 42, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The original legal battle has already been bruising and expensive on all sides. Lively's suit claimed that reputational damage and lost roles between August 2024 and August 2029 would amount to roughly $300 million, up from a previous estimate of $161 million she put forward in November 2025. Baldoni responded with a $400 million countersuit in January 2025, which was dismissed by a judge in June of that year.

Despite the settlement of certain claims between the two co‑stars, the story has refused to die. Lively is still seeking damages and legal fees from Wayfarer Studios under a California statute designed to shield people from retaliatory lawsuits. According to Star Magazine, that request remains pending, and there is no gag order in place. Both she and Baldoni are therefore free to talk publicly about what has unfolded, which is a prospect that reportedly alarms Lively's camp far more than Baldoni's.

One source painted a picture of a legal war that has hollowed out both reputations and bank balances, describing the $60 million fight so far as having 'taken a serious toll on both sides.' Another insider suggested Baldoni is 'inevitable' to speak out in detail about his version of events now that he is no longer silenced by active trial proceedings, something Lively is said to view as a 'nightmare scenario' because she cannot control how or where his claims might land.

Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds And The Publicist Lawsuit

The latest twist dragging Blake Lively back towards the witness chair comes not from Baldoni directly but from a separate lawsuit involving his former publicist, Jennifer Abel, and her then‑boss, Stephanie Jones, at PR firm Jonesworks. After Abel left the agency, texts and emails recovered from her company phone became a key part of the evidentiary trail for Lively's allegation that Baldoni and his team set out to discredit her after she complained about harassment.

Jones has argued she was legally required to hand over the contents of that phone in response to a subpoena. According to a report from Deadline on 7 May, lawyers in that case now want testimony from the central figures in the original drama. Baldoni, Blake Lively, and Ryan Reynolds may therefore find themselves answering detailed questions under oath about what they knew, when they knew it, and how any alleged reputational campaign was run.

'The last thing Blake and Ryan want is to testify,' a source told Star, adding that the couple would nonetheless comply if the judge orders it. There is nothing in the paperwork confirming that they will definitely be called, and no hearing date has yet been fixed for any such depositions, so for now that prospect remains speculative rather than settled.

Blake Lively's Career, Reputation And The 'Bully' Claim

Inside the courtroom, Baldoni's lawyers have been at pains to argue that whatever has happened to Blake Lively's career since It Ends With Us cannot be pinned on their client. In a pre‑trial hearing reported by the Daily Mail, counsel for Wayfarer Studios insisted the company was not responsible for any loss of earnings and went on the offensive, painting Lively as a 'bully' whose own missteps had dented her appeal.

They pointed to her business record, including her Betty Buzz drinks brand, as evidence of what they described as 'lacklustre' ventures, and argued that poor performance in that arena undermined her claim to future acting income of $132 million over the next five years. Baldoni's attorney, Amir Kaltgrad, was quoted as saying Lively had a 'scattered work history' and did not appear to want to work full time, noting that she had earned $21 million from films in the eight years before the 2024 domestic violence drama at the heart of their dispute.

Perhaps more controversially, Baldoni's team dug up the social‑media storm around Lively's 2024 Instagram post that appeared to mock the Princess of Wales over a heavily edited family photograph. When Catherine later revealed her cancer diagnosis, Lively publicly apologised, admitting the post had 'mortified' her. Baldoni's side argued that episode was an example of 'self‑inflicted' reputational damage and fed into their version of her as someone whose public image problems were of her own making rather than the product of a calculated campaign.

On Lively's side, lawyer Sigrid McCawley has portrayed her client as someone simply trying to be heard after a series of professional and personal affronts. Speaking outside court, McCawley said Lively was 'expecting to take the stand' at the now‑abandoned 18 May trial and was focused on finally telling her story. 'Blake's hope is to be able to have her voice heard in that courtroom and that's what we're focused on right now,' she said, adding that the actress had tried 'ferociously' to shield friends, including those dragged into the narrative such as Taylor Swift, from being pulled into the witness box.

A judge dealt Lively a significant legal setback earlier this month when 10 of her 13 claims against Baldoni were thrown out, leaving only breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation still live. That decision cleared the way for settlement discussions and delayed the trial, but it has not removed the prospect of more testimony or more discovery.

Representatives for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni did not respond to IBTimes UK's requests for comment, and many of the sharpest allegations on both sides remain untested in front of a jury. With multiple suits crossing over and no final judgment on the central claims, nothing is confirmed yet, and many of the more dramatic accusations still need to be treated with caution.