Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Going to Trial Next Year

Judge sets March 2026 date, will likely combine dueling lawsuits
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 28, 2025 2:00 AM CST
Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Will Go to Trial Next Year
Blake Lively appears at the screening for the film "It 'Ends With Us'" in London on Aug. 8, 2024.   (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

A New York judge set a March 2026 trial date on Monday and moved an initial conference from mid-February to next week as the public feud between Blake Lively and her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni continued to grow and accelerate, the AP reports. And in a new and separate front in the series of legal battles surrounding the film that became a surprise hit last summer, Lively in a Texas court filed a request for a deposition of a man she says was central to turning online sentiment against her during its release and promotion.

  • The New York federal judge, Lewis J. Liman, told both sides in an order late Monday to prepare for a March 9, 2026, trial. He also moved an initial conference from mid-February to next week and told lawyers to be prepared to address complaints about pretrial publicity and attorney conduct. Liman took the actions after Lively's lawyers claimed in a filing on Monday that an attorney for Baldoni was trying to taint potential jurors over lawsuits the actors have filed against each other.
  • The lawyers said Baldoni's attorney was trying to wreck Lively's career and turn potential New York jurors against her by creating a website to release selected documents and communications between Lively and Baldoni.
  • In the separate filing in Hays County, Texas, a precursor to another potential lawsuit, Lively asks for an order for a deposition from Jed Wallace, a crisis management specialist she alleges was behind much of the social media manipulation surrounding the film that turned public sentiment against her through posts on Reddit and TikTok. Wallace and his Texas-based firm Street Relations were brought on as subcontractors by publicists working with Baldoni and his production company, the filing said.
  • Lively first sued Baldoni, his production company, and others. Baldoni has also sued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds; the judge said Monday he will likely combine the lawsuits for trial.
(More Blake Lively stories.)

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