Blake Lively / Justin Baldoni Legal Drama

On August 9, 2024, Sony Pictures released the film It Ends with Us, based on the book by Colleen Hoover. It was directed by Justin Baldoni & produced by Wayfarer Studios. And it starred Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni. (Wayfarer Studios is co-founded by Justin Baldoni & Steve Sarowitz, and its CEO is Jamey Heath.)

Apparently, there was more drama taking place behind the scenes than what was seen on the silver screen — and it is not being accurately portrayed either by the mainstream media, Hollywood or any of the other mainstream news outlets or documentary/entertainment houses.

Below is an account of what I have found regarding this legal drama between Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and other relevant parties. Please keep in mind: this is a work in progress (and will likely get updated often).

Battles Brewed Behind the Scenes

During the time period of this film’s release, there were two major battles brewing behind the scenes.

  1. Blake Lively (& her husband, Ryan Reynolds) were at odds with Justin Baldoni & Wayfarer Studios.
  2. Stephanie Jones (the head of the PR firm, Jonesworks) was at odds with her soon-to-be ex-employee, Jennifer Abel & soon-to-be ex-client, Wayfarer Studios.

Battle #1: Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni & Wayfarer Studios

According to court filings* made in January of 2025, starting the year before the film’s release Blake Lively was gradually taking control of the film, coercing Wayfarer to do her bidding, and eventually she squeezed Justin Baldoni out of the picture.

She began by inserting her own dialogue changes and then started doing scene revisions. Then her husband, Ryan Reynolds demanded on April 25, 2023, that a certain scene be cut from the film.

According to Justin Baldoni‘s filed timeline**, Blake Lively told him at that time “that if he could not get on board with how she works, ‘he still had 2 weeks to recast her.’” But much of the film had already been shot by that point.

Blake Lively also took over the wardrobe and repeatedly called in sick on shoot days, causing all sorts of havoc for the production crew to have to work around her schedule. This all led into her making demands and refusing to show up for work unless she got her way.

She continued to make demands with refusals to do her enlisted part on the film unless she got her way. And each time she got her way.

Eventually, she refused to be seen alongside Justin Baldoni, the film’s director & lead male actor, during the film’s promotion & domestic release. She even threatened a cast-wide boycott if he attended the premiere of the film.

On the heels of this threat, Wayfarer considered hiring a crisis PR agent. And after seeing how far Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds were going to “undermine Baldoni”, Wayfarer hired Melissa Nathan & her firm (The Agency Group, aka TAG) on or about August 2, 2024, to help navigate their way on the road ahead.

*I highly recommend reading this court filing to hear Justin Baldoni‘s side of the story.
**I highly recommend reading this court-filed timeline to get a sense of the timing of events related to this film & the unfolding drama between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (& Wayfarer Studios) from January 1, 2019, until January 29, 2025.

Battle #2: Stephanie Jones (owner of the PR firm Jonesworks)
vs. Jennifer Abel (& Wayfarer Studios)

Jonesworks is the Public Relations firm that has represented Wayfarer Studios for many years.

Stephanie Jones is the owner of Jonesworks, and Jennifer Abel is the publicist from that firm who worked closely with Wayfarer Studios (namely, Justin Baldoni & Jamey Heath) during the production and release of the It Ends with Us film.

According to the court filings* mentioned above, Jennifer Abel gave notice to her employer Stephanie Jones (& to her co-workers) on July 10, 2024, stating that she was leaving the PR firm, Jonesworks, and going to start her own company. She offered to stay for a six-week transitional period giving an expected end date of August 23, 2024.

According to Jennifer Abel, Stephanie Jones was not happy about this loss, but Jennifer was ready to move on.

When Wayfarer saw what Blake Lively was threatening concerning Justin Baldoni‘s presence at the movie’s premier, they turned to Jonesworks for recommendations to handle crisis PR for them. Both Stephanie Jones & Jennifer Abel made recommendations.

Wayfarer ultimately decided to go with Jennifer Abel‘s recommendation, Melissa Nathan & her firm (TAG) after meeting with her and receiving a scope of work proposal from her.

According to Jennifer Abel though, Stephanie Jones saw Melissa Nathan as a competitor and did not like the fact that Wayfarer hired her.

Negative Buzz Starts to Spread Online

The film (which was closely tied to the book) was clearly about domestic abuse. However, Ryan Reynolds‘ production company, Maximum Effort, which eventually played the lead role in the marketing of this film because of Blake Lively‘s earlier demands, took a different promotional route than the one originally put forth by Wayfarer Studios & its director, Justin Baldoni.

In their marketing strategy they paid very little attention to the domestic abuse aspect of the story, and Blake Lively was the primary spokesperson for their promotional strategy.

Justin Baldoni, however, stayed true to his vision & purpose in making this film and stuck to his guns in addressing domestic violence — without maligning anything coming from Blake Lively‘s efforts.

However, when people began to notice that Justin Baldoni was not being seen with the rest of the cast, many started asking why.

A headline from the US Star published on August 7, 2024 (& revised August 9, 2024) read: “Cast Chaos? It Ends With Us fans suspect Justin Baldoni is ‘feuding’ with cast including co-star Blake Lively after spotting clues“.

During this period, despite Wayfarer‘s agreed-upon PR strategy to not speak to the press, Stephanie Jones inserted herself into the public relations scenario, acting on Wayfarer‘s behalf and spoke with the Daily Mail.

According to the court-filed timeline:

August 9, 2024: Heath calls Jones to clarify that, due to the sensitivity of the situation, he feels more comfortable with Abel leading communications rather than Jones. Heath reiterates that Jones should refrain from taking any action on behalf of Baldoni or Wayfarer until further notice. At the time, Heath was in Chicago with Baldoni and Abel, and they all agreed that Abel, with firsthand knowledge and the most up-to-date information, was the best person to handle communications. Jones does not take this well and launched into a tirade, insisting that she will speak to whomever she pleases, and that Wayfarer cannot stop her from “clearing her name.” The day prior, Heath had texted Jones demanding that she not communicate with anyone on behalf of Wayfarer or Baldoni.

Also, articles began to surface noting how differently the two co-stars were promoting the film. One headline announced: “Blake Lively fans blast It Ends with Us actress over ‘tone-deaf’ and ‘shallow’ interview with co-stars” (from DailyMail.com on August 12, 2024).

As a result of this negative “press” Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds wanted Wayfarer Studios (Justin Baldoni & Jamey Heath) to make a statement (which Ryan Reynolds prepared for them) & take “full accountability” for the “troubled production” and for how the film had been separately promoted.

This final demand came through WME (William Morris Endeavor Entertainment), the talent agency which represented Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Justin Baldoni. According to the court-filed timeline, Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds “warn WME that absent compliance, the ‘gloves will come off.‘”

Ultimately Wayfarer, Justin Baldoni & Jamey Heath rejected the demand, and Melissa Nathan encouraged them to hire Brian Freedman (BF) as their lawyer.

Regarding the brewing battle between Stephanie Jones and Jennifer Abel & Wayfarer, the court-filed timeline says:

August 14, 2024: As discussed hereinabove, in early August 2024, Jones inserted herself into the situation, attempting to sideline Nathan and Abel. The issue, however, was that Jones had deliberately distanced herself from Wayfarer leadership’s communications strategy and internal decision-making, citing her focus on higher-profile clients. Wayfarer had no objection to Jones’ disengagement, as Abel was their trusted advisor, and they had no interest in becoming entangled in Jonesworks’ internal politics. Furthermore, Jones had been on a family vacation during the critical period of the press campaign and Film premiere. Despite her physical distance, Jones’ attempts to intervene were clumsy, unwelcome, and sporadic. As she tried to create drama and undermine Abel’s authority, Wayfarer and Baldoni remained focused on managing the crisis at hand. On August 14, 2024, in a final effort to position herself as the “key player” for Wayfarer’s account, anticipating Abel’s imminent departure from Jonesworks, Jones sent a disorganized strategy outline and includes a veiled threat to Wayfarer, reminding Heath of their contractual agreement.

Stephanie Jones concluded her letter to Wayfarer that contained this strategy, asking them to reconsider her involvement. Apparently, they did not.

Could this be when Plans for a Smear Campaign
by Blake Lively & Stephanie Jones
against Wayfarer, Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz,
Jennifer Abel & Melissa Nathan is Hatched?

^ The above suggestion is my personal conjecture. ^

On August 21, 2024, just two days prior to her planned departure, Jennifer Abel was essentially fired by Jonesworks, and her cell phone was taken from her, giving Stephanie Jones unfettered access to all of Jennifer’s text messages (& other personal data stored through that device).

The same day, Melissa Nathan, who was working in conjunction with Jennifer Abel on Wayfarer‘s behalf, allegedly received a phone call from Leslie Sloane (Blake Lively‘s publicist), and she was told that Melissa’s texts had been seen by Leslie and that Melissa was going to be sued.

*Again, I highly recommend reading both of the above linked court filings to get Jennifer Abel‘s side of the story and a sense of the timing of relevant events (& their details) that took place throughout all of this.

Under the Cover of Darkness

Unbeknownst to all who were affiliated with Wayfarer Studios
(except for Blake Lively and Stephanie Jones), the following actions took place.

On September 27, 2024, VANZAN, INC. filed a lawsuit against “Does 1-10” in the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

The complaint identified the Plaintiff as a New York corporation with its principal place of business located in NY, NY. (The attorney’s firm for the Plaintiff in this case was Manatt, Phelphs & Phillips, LLP.)

The Defendants were identified as “individuals and/or companies that are domiciled, reside, have their principal places of business and/or are incorporated or organized, in New York.“

However, the complaint claimed the Plaintiff is “not privy to the names or identities of the individual defendants” (DOES 1-10), yet they were said to “have certain contractual and confidentiality obligations and obligations of good faith and loyalty to Plaintiff regarding Plaintiff’s business and reputation, by way of oral promises and/or written agreements.“

The complaint alleged: 

  • Breach of Contract, 
  • Breach of Covenant of Good Faith & Fair Dealing,
  • and Faithless Servant Liability.

Katie Joy from Without a Crystal Ball reported on 4/17/25 her discovery of “VANZAN, INC” having the same registered address as what is on the above-mentioned lawsuit. The company was incorporated on September 29, 2010, and the (Inactive) Directors/Officers were listed as “Blake Reynolds” as its CEO, Secretary & CFO.

On October 1, 2024, a subpoena was issued to Stephanie Jones for the data found on Jennifer Abel‘s phone, but Jennifer Abel was never notified that this data was being subpoenaed. (And as of late April 2025, none of the Wayfarer parties or their attorney has even seen this subpoena.)

Andy Signore from Popcorned Planet shared a Daily Mail article that came out on 4/18/25 which verified a subpoena that was purportedly presented to Stephanie Jones of Jonesworks leading to Blake Lively obtaining cell phone data from an ex-employee of Stephanie’s (Jennifer Abel) was indeed tied to this lawsuit.
And Lauren Neidigh from The Court of Random Opinion shared a Deadline article on 4/21/25 that revealed Blake Lively’s attorneys confirmed that the subpoena came from Blake Lively.

On December 10, 2024, the PDF version of a complaint that was yet to be filed by Blake Lively with the California Civil Rights Department was indexed on New York Times’ domain. (This doesn’t necessarily mean that this was the first time it was indexed by Google, but rather that it was simply indexed on that date.)

On December 12, 2024, the schema of a promotional video for an upcoming NY Times article stating, “Private messages detail a campaign to tarnish Lively after she accused Justin Baldoni of misconduct on set.” was apparently finalized.

On December 16, 2024, an image of Justin Baldoni set to headline the upcoming NY Times article was finalized.

On December 18, 2024, additional imagery of Justin Baldoni is set to appear in the soon-to-be-published NY Times article.

On December 19, 2024, Blake Lively discontinued her lawsuit against the nameless defendants without prejudice.

Then on December 20, 2024, The aforementioned California Civil Rights Department (CCRD) complaint was filed by Blake Lively against:

  • Wayfarer Studios (the production studio behind the 2024 film It Ends with Us),
  • Justin Baldoni (the studio’s co-founder and lead actor & director of the film),
  • Steve Sarowitz (the studio’s co-founder),
  • Jamey Heath (the studio’s CEO and producer of the film),
  • Melissa Nathan (the studio’s Crisis PR agent) & her PR company (TAG),
  • Jennifer Abel (the studio’s PR agent) & her PR company (RWA Communications),
  • Jed Wallace (who has no ties to the studio) & his company (Street Relations),
  • and Does 1-100.

This complaint alleged the following actions:

  • Sexual Harassment
  • Retaliation
  • Failure to Investigate, Prevent &/or Remedy Harassment
  • Aiding & Abetting Harassment & Retaliation
  • Breach of Contract
  • Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
  • Negligence
  • False Light Invasion of Privacy
  • Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage

On this same day at 6:46 PM, the NY Times reporter, Megan Twohey reaches out via email to “Wayfarer about allegations made by Lively related to a filed CRD complaint” stating:

‘Please offer any on-the-record comment, as well as any other information you think we should know. Additionally, please notify us of any inaccuracies. We need to hear back from you tomorrow by noon Eastern.‘ [emphasis mine]

NOTE: Wayfarer is on the west coast, so this deadline set by the NY Times was by 9:00 AM west coast time on the Saturday before Christmas.

At 11:16 PM (or 2:16 AM EST), “Wayfarer’s representative responds to the journalist and unequivocally denied Lively’s accusations.”

*Again, I highly recommend reading both of the above linked court filings to get Wayfarer‘s side of the story and a sense of the timing of relevant events (& their details).

Blake Lively’s (& Stephanie Jones’) Accusations Become Public

On December 21, 2024, at 10:11 AM (two hours before their stated deadline), the NY Times published a scathing online article entitled “We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine”. It was heavily one-sided revealing the confidential complaint and claimed a smear campaign had been waged against Blake Lively.

On December 24, 2024, Stephanie Jones & her PR firm (Jonesworks) filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of New York (the same court in which VANZAN filed its lawsuit) against: 

  • Jennifer Abel (her ex-employee),
  • Melissa Nathan (her competitor),
  • Wayfarer Studios and Justin Baldoni (her ex-clients).

In Stephanie Jones’ complaint, she primarily alleges: 

  • Breach of Contract 
  • Tortious Interference with Contract

In response to the NY Times article, on December 31, 2024, Wayfarer Studios et al filed a lawsuit against the NY Times for Libel.

On that same day, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit* against Wayfarer Studios et al, in the US District Court (in NY) for the alleged sexual harassment and retaliation mentioned in her CCRD complaint. (And the law firm representing Blake Lively as the Plaintiff again was Manatt, Phelphs & Phillips, LLP.)

Then, on January 16, 2025, Wayfarer Studios et al filed a lawsuit** in the US District Court (in NY) against: 

  • Blake Lively,
  • Ryan Reynolds (her husband)
  • and Leslie Sloane (her PR agent) & her PR company.

This suit alleged:

  • Civil Extortion
  • Defamation
  • False Light Invasion of Privacy
  • Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
  • Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations
  • Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage
  • Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage

While all of these lawsuits made some startling allegations, the Wayfarer party’s complaint provided much more supporting documentation & context than Blake Lively‘s complaint.

*Read Blake Lively‘s complaint against Wayfarer Studios, Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Jennifer Abel & her firm, and Melissa Nathan & her firm to get her story & version of events.
**Read the Wayfarer parties complaint against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Leslie Sloane & her firm to get a fuller picture of their side of the story as they understood it at the time.

The Public Unfolding Legal Drama Begins

On January 21, 2025, raw film footage for a falling-in-love montage between the film’s lead characters, Lily Bloom (played by Blake) and Ryle (played by Justin), was released to the public by Justin Baldoni’s attorney, in defense of Justin Baldoni, to address some of the accusations that had been made against him in Blake Lively‘s published complaint.

This footage was widely circulated, and it portrayed a very different picture from the one alleged in Blake Lively‘s complaint & eventual lawsuit.

On January 24, 2025, Wayfarer answered Blake Lively‘s complaint. So did It Ends with Us LLC and The Agency Group or TAG (Melissa Nathan‘s firm).

On January 27, 2025, a change of court venue for Jones v Abel was requested to go from the Supreme Court of New York to the District Court of New York. [See Docket#: 1:25-cv-00779] On January 30, 2025, this Jones v Abel case was then coupled with the above two cases between Blake Lively & Wayfarer Studios et al. Judge Lyman is now presiding over all of them.

On and after January 16th, thanks to online public sleuthing, evidence surrounding the timing of the formulation of the NY Times article surfaced.

Given this, on January 31, 2025, an amended complaint* was filed by the Wayfarer parties, incorporating the NY Times into the same suit with the Blake Lively parties (as co-defendants).

This amended complaint, coupled with a timeline of events** provided by the Wayfarer parties, brought forth more evidence to support the Wayfarer parties’ positions and addressed some of the allegations being made against them.

Notably these documents showed that many of the text messages found in Blake Lively‘s CCRD complaint and lawsuit were cherry picked — plucked from their immediate context. The Wayfarer documents provided more context which told a different story than what Blake Lively alleged.

* ** These are the two documents referenced at the start of this post.

On February 3, 2025, a pretrial conference was held between the Judge and the Plaintiff & Defense attorneys, and a scheduling order was issued.

Then on February 18, 2025, Blake Lively filed an amended complaint, incorporating a new party to her list of defendants: Jed Wallace & his firm (Street Relations).

In this amended complaint Blake changed her story surrounding a few details from her first complaint, apparently given the new evidence that came to light (namely, the released raw film footage and other documents presented in the Wayfarer party’s amended complaint).

From what I saw or can recall, there was little to no other document evidence added to Blake Lively‘s complaint to significantly support any of her allegations.

On February 20, 2025, Leslie Sloan (Blake’s PR agent) & her company (Vision PR) filed a motion to dismiss the Wayfarer party’s amended complaint. 

On February 28, 2025, the NY Times filed a motion to dismiss the Wayfarer party’s amended complaint.

On March 6, 2025, regarding Leslie Sloan & her company’s motion to dismiss, the Wayfarer parties issued their response. And on March 13, 2025, Leslie Sloan & her company responded.

On March 14, 2025, regarding the NY Times‘ motion to dismiss, the Wayfarer parties issued their response.

On March 18, 2025, Ryan Reynolds filed a motion to dismiss the Wayfarer party’s amended complaint.

On March 19, 2025, Jed Wallace & his company (Street Relations) filed a motion to dismiss the specific complaints made against them (or alternatively, a motion to sever & to transfer venue).

On March 20, 2025, Blake Lively filed a motion to dismiss the Wayfarer party’s amended complaint.

And every defendant (other than Jed Wallace) in Blake Lively‘s suit answered the specific complaints made against them individually, and they maintained their demand for a jury trial in the District Court of New York.

Note: Jennifer Abel filed a complaint against a third-party to this case: Stephanie Jones & her firm (Jonesworks) for Indemnification.

Each defendant in the Jones v Abel case also answered the complaints made specifically against them:

Notice there are counterclaims made here against Stephanie Jones.

The first counterclaim is made by Jennifer Abel for eleven causes of action to include: 

  • Declaratory Relief
  • Violation of California Labor Code 925
  • Declaratory Relief – Restraints of Trade
  • Unfair Competition
  • Violation of California Labor Code 432.5
  • Invasion of Privacy – Intrusion Upon Seclusion
  • Invasion of Privacy – False Light
  • Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
  • Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
  • Promissory Fraud 
  • False Imprisonment

And the other counterclaim is made by Wayfarer Studios for: 

  • Breach of contract 
  • Breach of implied covenant

On March 21, 2025, the NY Times responded to the Wayfarer party’s response to the NY Times‘ motion to dismiss.

On April 24, 2025, after discovering information (in mid-April) surrounding the VANZAN lawsuit, Jennifer Abel filed an amended answer to the complaint & her counterclaim in the Jones v Abel case for the following causes of action:

  • Violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (NEW)
  • Violations of Stored Communications Act (NEW)
  • Violations of the Federal Wiretap Act (NEW)
  • Violations of California Penal Code 502 (NEW)
  • Invasion of Privacy (same as before)
  • False Light (same as before)
  • Conversion (NEW)
  • Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (same as before)
  • Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (same as before)
  • Promissory Fraud (same as before)

And Wayfarer Studios filed an amended answer to the Jones v Abel complaint & their counterclaim for these causes of action:

  • Breach of contract (Two counts – NEW)
  • Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (same as before)
  • Defamation per se (NEW)

On April 25, 2025, Marvel Entertainment filed a motion to quash the subpoena for discovery made to them by the Wayfarer parties.

On April 28, 2025, the Wayfarer parties responded to Marvel’s motion. Also, on this same day, Jennifer Abel filed an amended answer to the Lively v Wayfarer first amended complaint and third-party complaint for these causes of action:

  • Indemnification (same as before)
  • Contribution (NEW)

On April 30, 2025, Leslie Sloan & her firm (Vision PR) filed a motion to compel the Wayfarer parties to respond to several interrogatories and produce specific document(s).

On May 2, 2025, the Wayfarer parties responded to Leslie Sloane‘s motion to compel their response to specified interrogatories & the production of specified documents, stating one of the interrogatories was “overly broad” while the remaining ones were “improper” and claiming the sought-after documents was “improper”.

As of this writing, the Judge has yet to rule on the many motions to dismiss. the NYT’s motion to quash and Sloane’s motion to compel. Meanwhile, legal discovery & depositions are underway.

The trial’s court date is set to happen in a New York federal court on March 9, 2026.

[This page was written by Carrie (not Kelly) and last updated on 5/10/25.]