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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Blake Lively’s complaint alleged two related forms of wrongdoing: unwanted sexual conduct and boundary violations during the filming of It Ends with Us, followed by a coordinated press and online campaign that she said was intended to damage her reputation. Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives denied the core accusations and offered a competing account involving disputes over creative control, promotion, and alleged demands by Lively.
The allegations began in a December 20, 2024 complaint to the California Civil Rights Department and continued into federal litigation. As of the latest verified ruling in the record—an April 2, 2026 opinion—the case had been narrowed substantially, but specified retaliation and contract claims remained. Nothing in that ruling converted the complaint’s allegations of sexual harassment into judicial findings.
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What the complaint is—and what it is not
Blake Lively’s complaint described two connected disputes surrounding It Ends with Us: alleged sexual misconduct and boundary violations during filming, followed by what she characterized as a coordinated campaign to damage her reputation after she raised concerns. Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and people working with them denied the core accusations and presented a different account of the production and publicity conflict.
The allegations were first set out in a complaint Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department on December 20, 2024. She filed a federal lawsuit in New York 11 days later. The complaint and later pleadings are not the same thing as judicial findings of fact. The latest verified court ruling in the record, issued April 2, 2026, narrowed the case substantially but did not resolve every claim in the Wayfarer parties’ favor.
#1 Best Overall
- IT ENDS WITH US tells the empowering story of Lily Bloom. Grappling with a painful past, Lily embarks on a new life in Boston and opens her own flower shop. After falling in love with Ryle, Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her dangerous father. With the support of her friends and allies, Lily must find her own strength to break the pattern or the pattern will break her.
What Blake Lively alleges happened during filming
According to Lively’s account as summarized in the federal court record, the alleged conduct involved intimate scenes, proposed sexual content, comments about sex and pornography, and repeated comments about her appearance. The following are allegations, not established findings.
Alleged conduct during a kissing scene
Lively alleged that Baldoni bit and sucked her lower lip during an improvised kissing scene. She said he insisted that the scene be filmed repeatedly. Her account characterized the physical conduct as something Baldoni added during filming rather than behavior required by the characters or the scripted scene.
Alleged kissing during a romance montage
She also alleged that Baldoni slowly dragged his lips down her neck during a romance montage. Lively’s complaint said the action was unrelated to what the roles called for.
Alleged additions to the film’s sexual content
Lively alleged that Baldoni personally added graphic sexual material to the production. One example identified in the record was a proposed scene in which her character would orgasm on camera.
The significance of this allegation is separate from whether a scene ultimately appeared in the finished movie. Lively’s complaint focused on the alleged addition and insistence during the production process, not simply on the final cut.
Alleged pressure concerning nudity in a birthing scene
Lively alleged that Baldoni insisted she be naked in a birthing scene. The allegation concerned the conditions requested for filming the scene and the boundaries she said were being imposed, rather than a claim that the finished scene necessarily showed her nude.
Alleged discussions about pornography
Lively alleged that Baldoni discussed his pornography addiction with her. She further alleged that he disclosed to other cast and crew members that she had never seen pornography.
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Those allegations involve both the subject of the conversation and the alleged sharing of personal information with other people on the production. The complaint presented them as part of a broader pattern of unwanted sexual discussions and boundary violations.
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Alleged comments about her appearance
Lively also alleged that Baldoni repeatedly described her as “sexy” or “hot.” In the context of the complaint, she characterized the comments as inappropriate workplace conduct rather than ordinary discussion of the film’s characters or costumes.
The workplace meeting and the protections Lively says were requested
Lively alleged that she and other people raised concerns about inappropriate conduct while the production was underway. She said an all-hands meeting was held to address those concerns before filming continued.
The later litigation record also discusses proposed production protections and contractual language covering:
- sexual harassment;
- physical boundaries between performers;
- intimate scenes and how they would be filmed;
- nudity;
- sexual discussions on set; and
- the use or display of sexual material.
It is important not to collapse these issues into one conclusion. There are at least three separate questions:
- What Lively says happened: her account of the alleged conduct during filming.
- What protections she says were sought: requests concerning boundaries, intimacy, nudity, sexual conversations, and sexual material.
- What the court later decided: legal questions about the claims, employment relationships, contracts, evidence, causation, and the applicable standards.
The April 2, 2026 opinion discussed negotiations over provisions addressing sexual harassment and related protections. But the parties disputed which agreement, if any, became binding and what its terms meant. The existence of negotiations or an all-hands meeting therefore should not be presented as a court finding that every allegation was proven.
What Lively alleges about retaliation and a reputation campaign
Lively’s complaint alleged that the conflict did not end with the on-set concerns. She said that, after she complained about the working environment, Baldoni and associates connected to Wayfarer—including public-relations personnel—developed a sophisticated press and digital strategy intended to destroy her reputation.
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Her complaint cited messages and screenshots that she said showed coordination involving:
- negative stories and media coverage;
- online commentary;
- social-media activity; and
- efforts to shape how the public understood the dispute.
Lively’s theory was not limited to one article or a single social-media post. She described a multi-stage effort that allegedly created and sustained negative attention during the film’s publicity cycle.
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That account must remain attributed. The court record establishes that Lively pleaded and litigated these allegations; it does not, merely by recounting them, establish that Baldoni or Wayfarer carried out every alleged tactic. A careful description is that Lively alleged a coordinated reputation-damage campaign, not that a smear campaign has been judicially established.
Baldoni and Wayfarer’s response
Baldoni’s representatives described Lively’s allegations as false. Their response said the accusations were an attempt to repair damage to Lively’s public reputation.
The defendants offered a competing explanation for the public-relations activity. They said Wayfarer proactively hired a crisis manager because of alleged demands and threats by Lively, including alleged threats not to appear on set or promote the movie unless her demands were met.
The parties also disputed creative control, the film’s edit, the publicity campaign, and the terms under which Lively would promote the movie. Baldoni and Wayfarer’s position was that these issues, rather than retaliation for protected complaints, explained their conduct. Lively disputed that characterization.
These competing accounts are central to understanding the case. The existence of crisis-management work does not by itself prove retaliation, just as Lively’s allegation of coordinated public-relations activity does not by itself establish that the defendants ran the campaign she described.
Claims Lively asserted
The litigation record identifies the following legal theories. The exact claims and defendants changed as the case moved from the administrative complaint to the federal pleadings, so this list should not be read as a description of one unchanging complaint.
| Claim or theory | What it concerned in broad terms |
|---|---|
| Sexual harassment under California law | Alleged unwanted sexual conduct and comments in the workplace and during production. |
| Retaliation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act | Alleged adverse action after Lively raised concerns about harassment or the working environment. |
| Retaliation under California Labor Code section 1102.5 | Alleged retaliation connected to reporting or objecting to conduct she believed violated the law. |
| Failure to investigate or prevent harassment | Alleged failure to take appropriate steps to investigate or prevent the complained-of conduct. |
| Breach of contract | Disputes over contractual protections, production conditions, and the obligations created by the parties’ agreements. |
| Intentional infliction of emotional distress | Alleged extreme or outrageous conduct causing severe emotional distress. |
| False-light invasion of privacy | Alleged public portrayal of Lively in a misleading and highly offensive way. |
| Sexual harassment under California Civil Code section 51.9 | A civil claim concerning alleged sexual harassment in a business, service, or professional relationship. |
| Defamation and defamation per se | Alleged false statements that harmed Lively’s reputation, including statements treated under California law as especially damaging. |
| Civil-conspiracy theories | Alleged coordination among defendants to carry out wrongful acts. |
The December 20, 2024 California Civil Rights Department complaint, the December 31, 2024 federal complaint, the February 18, 2025 First Amended Complaint, and the July 30, 2025 Second Amended Complaint were not identical documents. When referring to a particular allegation or claim, it matters which filing is being discussed.
Procedural timeline
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| December 20, 2024 | Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. |
| December 31, 2024 | She filed her federal action in the Southern District of New York. |
| February 18, 2025 | She filed a First Amended Complaint. |
| July 30, 2025 | She filed the operative Second Amended Complaint. |
| January 22, 2026 | The court heard oral argument on the Wayfarer parties’ motions. |
| April 2, 2026 | The court issued an opinion granting judgment to the Wayfarer parties on most counts while allowing three categories of claims to continue at that stage. |
What survived the April 2, 2026 ruling
The latest verified opinion granted judgment in favor of the Wayfarer parties on all counts except these three categories:
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute- Lively’s FEHA retaliation claim against It Ends With Us Movie LLC and Wayfarer Studios;
- her aiding-and-abetting FEHA retaliation claim against The Agency Group PR; and
- her breach-of-contract claim.
This was a substantial narrowing of the litigation, but it was not a ruling that all of Lively’s allegations were true or false. The surviving claims concerned legal issues including retaliation, the conduct and role of particular defendants, contractual obligations, causation, and the evidence supporting the claims.
Most importantly, the April 2 opinion should not be described as a finding that the alleged sexual harassment occurred. Nor should the judgment on other claims be described as a factual determination that every alleged event did not occur. The ruling addressed the claims under the relevant legal standards and left the specified retaliation and contract issues unresolved at that point in the record.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the later Taylor Swift messages do—and do not—show
Later filings discussed messages between Lively and Taylor Swift. Baldoni and Wayfarer cited excerpts and argued that the messages showed Lively and Swift discussing the forthcoming New York Times story or related publicity.
Lively disputed that interpretation. She pointed to the complete exchange and to her deposition testimony, arguing that the excerpts did not provide the context the defendants claimed.
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The film’s source material
It Ends with Us was adapted from Colleen Hoover’s novel. Readers who want to compare the source material with the film can consult the It Ends with Us paperback. Reading the novel may provide adaptation context, but it does not prove or disprove any allegation about the production or the later publicity dispute. This link may be monetized.
What can responsibly be concluded
- Lively alleged unwanted physical contact during intimate scenes, added sexual content, pressure concerning nudity, sexual discussions, and repeated comments about her appearance.
- She alleged that she and others raised concerns, that an all-hands meeting followed, and that proposed protections addressed boundaries, intimacy, nudity, sexual discussions, and sexual material.
- She alleged a coordinated press and online retaliation campaign after she complained.
- Baldoni and Wayfarer denied the core accusations and said their crisis-management efforts responded to alleged demands and threats by Lively.
- The parties also disagreed about creative control, the final edit, promotion, and publicity.
- The April 2, 2026 ruling narrowed the case but left specified FEHA retaliation and contract issues unresolved.
The most accurate account is therefore a document-based one: the complaint presents Lively’s allegations, the defendants present a competing narrative, and the later court ruling determines which legal claims continue—not a blanket factual verdict on every event described in the pleadings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Blake Lively allege Justin Baldoni did on set?
Lively alleged that Baldoni bit and sucked her lower lip during a repeatedly filmed improvised kissing scene, dragged his lips down her neck during a romance montage, added graphic sexual content including an on-camera orgasm scene, insisted on nudity in a birthing scene, discussed his pornography addiction, disclosed personal information about her pornography history, and repeatedly called her “sexy” or “hot.” These remain allegations, not court findings.
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No. The April 2, 2026 opinion addressed the parties’ legal claims, evidence, contractual issues, employment relationships, causation, and applicable legal standards. It did not find that the alleged sexual harassment occurred.
When did Blake Lively file her complaint?
Lively filed the initial complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on December 20, 2024. She filed the federal action on December 31, 2024, later amended it on February 18, 2025, and filed the operative Second Amended Complaint on July 30, 2025.
Which claims remained after the latest ruling?
Three categories remained after the April 2, 2026 ruling: Lively’s FEHA retaliation claim against It Ends With Us Movie LLC and Wayfarer Studios; her aiding-and-abetting FEHA retaliation claim against The Agency Group PR; and her breach-of-contract claim.
How did Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer respond?
Baldoni’s representatives called Lively’s allegations false. Baldoni and Wayfarer said they hired crisis-management help because of alleged demands and threats by Lively, including alleged threats not to appear on set or promote the film unless her demands were met. The parties also disputed creative control, editing, promotion, and publicity.
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The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Blake Lively’s complaint alleged both on-set sexual misconduct and a later retaliation campaign aimed at damaging her reputation. Baldoni and Wayfarer denied those allegations and attributed the publicity conflict to disputes over Lively’s demands, creative control, and promotion. As of the April 2, 2026 ruling in the record, most claims had been resolved in the Wayfarer parties’ favor, but specified FEHA retaliation and breach-of-contract claims remained. The ruling did not establish that the alleged sexual harassment occurred.
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