The Hollywood Reporter has come under fire from Blake Lively’s camp for its controversial magazine cover that appears to make light of her and Justin Baldoni’s court case.
The pair have been locked in a bitter legal battle regarding drama that took place during the shooting of It Ends With Us – which 37-year-old Lively starred in alongside 41-year-old Baldoni, who also directed it.
Now, Lively, who is married to Ryan Reynolds, has slammed The Hollywood Reporter for its ‘sexist’ magazine cover claiming it is ‘outrageously insulting’.
The picture depicts Lively in a dress while firing a phone from a slingshot into the back of Baldoni, who is wearing a woollen tunic and gripping onto the original It Ends With Us book – which he adapted into a screenplay.
In an expanded version of the illustration on the outlet’s website, Lively’s husband Reynolds stands behind her, but dressed as a version of his Deadpool character called Nicepool – which is believed to be a character designed to troll Baldoni.
While Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman is depicted behind him with his arms on his hips, facing Reynolds.
The artwork is a nod to David and Goliath, the biblical story in which a a shepherd takes down a giant using a slingshot.
Reacting to it, a spokesperson for Lively told the Daily Mail: “The Hollywood Reporter should be ashamed of itself.
“The framing in this picture is outrageously insulting as it plays into every sexist trope about women who dare file a workplace complaint, turning them into the aggressor, and suggesting they deserve the retaliation that comes their way.
“In addition, the story is extremely offensive as it incredibly seems to explain away documented examples of sexual harassment and retaliation by calling them ‘cultural misunderstandings.'”
Heated exchanges between the pair can be dated as far back to April 2023, it was only in December 2024 that Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni for sexual harassment and allegedly taking part in a ‘smear campaign’ against her.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively on the set of ‘It Ends with Us’ in January 2024 (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
In January, the star filed another lawsuit for harassment and retaliation alleging Baldoni engaged in inappropriate behavior on set – including in one scene where their characters perform a slow dance.
Baldoni denied all the claims and his company filed its own suit against the mom-of-four – seeking $400 million in damages, while also releasing on-set footage of the scene in question.
Lively’s lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, has accused Baldoni’s camp of making ‘inflammatory extrajudicial comments’ about the case, while Baldoni’s attorney Freedman has accused Lively’s team of trying to impose a ‘gag order’ on him to stop him from talking to the press.
A publicist working for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds has asked a New York court to remove her from the ongoing legal battle between her clients and Justin Baldoni because she claims she was ‘dragged’ into the conflict.
Leslie Sloane and her company, Vision PR, have no doubt had their work cut out for them since Lively first decided to take legal action against her It Ends With Us co-star, Baldoni, in December 2024.
The case made headlines as Lively accused Baldoni both of sexual harassment during their time working on the 2024 drama movie, as well as of attempting to ‘destroy’ her reputation in the aftermath.
Baldoni then hit back with a suit of his own in which he accused Lively and her team of having ‘orchestrated’ a ‘vicious smear campaign’ against him. He has also claimed her husband, Reynolds, had ‘aggressively berated him’.
Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment in her lawsuit (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Sloane was among the defendants named in Baldoni’s suit, but on February 20 her lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, filed a motion in New York requesting that both Sloane and Vision PR be removed from the suit.
McCawley alleged Sloane was ‘dragged’ into what she described as a ‘smoke and mirrors exercise’ by Baldoni’s team, suggesting they had filed the countersuit to ‘distract from their own sexual harassment and systematic retaliation’.
The filing also references Sloane’s ‘decades-long reputation for professionalism and trustworthiness’, and claims there is no ‘basis’ for the allegation that PR Vision launched a ‘smear campaign’ against Baldoni.
By naming her in the countersuit, Sloane’s lawyer alleges the publicist suffered ‘irreparable professional damage and emotional harm’.
McCawley also showed support for Lively in the filing as she hit back against Baldoni’s claim that she took over creative control of the movie, for which he was also the director.
She wrote: “Baldoni’s allegations about the creative issues are irrelevant and tellingly sexist. Because Ms Lively – an executive producer on the film – dared to offer input on the script, wardrobe and editing, Baldoni blasts her as ‘tyrannical’ and ‘aggressive,’ among other coded terms.”
Baldoni has countersued for $400 million (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
As for Lively’s allegations about Baldoni’s behavior on set, McCawley alleged Baldoni and his team responded by using ‘every weapon in their arsenal to blame, embarrass and silence her, going so far as to hire a crisis PR manager who promised to ‘bury’ Ms Lively and ‘destroy’ her life’.
Baldoni’s lawyers have previously described Lively’s claims as ‘false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt’.
Both sides have been told to prepare for a trial in March 2026.
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There is a notable absentee at the Super Bowl, as it appears Blake Lively has not accompanied her bestie Taylor Swift to the game.
The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping for an unprecedented three-peat as they face the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Country Music Hall of Famer Swift will be cheering on her boyfriend Travis Kelce alone.
Taylor Swift will be supporting her boyfriend Travis Kelce at this year’s Super Bowl (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Well, she’s not exactly alone, as she still has her entourage around her, but Ryan Reynolds‘ wife is not one of them.
Last year, Swift and Lively attended the Super Bowl together, hitting headlines all over the world for their antics.
But Lively‘s absence seemingly comes amid the legal drama between her and It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
In December 2024, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni for sexual harassment and allegedly taking part in a ‘smear campaign’ against her. In January, the star filed another lawsuit for harassment and retaliation alleging Baldoni engaged in inappropriate behavior on set – including in one scene where their characters perform a slow dance.
Baldoni denied all the claims and his company filed its own suit against Lively, also releasing on-set footage of the scene in question.
Lively’s lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, has accused Baldoni’s camp of making ‘inflammatory extrajudicial comments’ about the case, while Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freidman has accused Lively’s team of trying to impose a ‘gag order’ on him to stop him from talking to the press.
Meanwhile, Judge Lewis Liman accused both sides in the case of giving ‘the public plenty to feast upon’.
Rapper Ice Spice, Taylor Swift and Blake Lively at the Super Bowl last year (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Baldoni recently launched a website containing documents filed in court, including text messages which the A Simple Favor star had allegedly sent him.
Alongside footage of the pair onset together, his team previously stated: “Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism.”
However, Lively’s team said the clip corroborates her account and is ‘damning’ of Baldoni, as well as slamming its release as ‘an unethical attempt to manipulate the public’.
The statement reads: “Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort.
“They will recognize her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.”
Lively and Baldoni will go to trial on March 9, 2026.
LADbible Group has contacted representatives for Lively for comment.
A new court document filed by Blake Lively’s attorneys details the ’emotional impact’ Justin Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign had on her, her husband, and children.
Lively filed a suit against her It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni in December 2024, where she claimed to have been sexually harassed by him and accused him and his team of hatching a smear campaign against her. Baldoni then countersued Lively, Ryan Reynolds and their publicist, alleging defamation.
Both actors deny the allegations made against them.
Dozens of allegations about Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 41, have since been revealed amid their ongoing legal back-and-forth, including supposed text message exchanges between Baldoni and Reynolds.
Elsewhere, a leaked voice note allegedly details Baldoni apologizing to his co-star, who admitted that he had ‘f****d up’.
Now, a new document has been filed by Lively’s team which says that her children have been left ‘traumatized’ by Baldoni’s alleged actions.
The Gossip Girl alum has been married to Reynolds for 12 years, with whom she shares four children; James, 10, Inez, eight, Betty, five, and two-year-old son, Olin.
Part of the amendment reads: “There are days when she has struggled to get out of bed, and she frequently chooses not to venture outside in public.
“While she has fought to maintain her personal life and business interests, behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.”
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have been married for 12 years (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
In regards to Deadpool star Reynolds, it says that the 48-year-old has ‘been affected mentally, physically, and professionally by his wife’s and children’s pain’.
The amendment goes on to add: “Worst of all, however, has been the impact on their young children, who have been traumatized and emotionally uprooted in ways that have substantially impacted their well-being.”
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman has since responded to the amended complaint, issuing a statement which branded the new allegations ‘underwhelming’.
“Our clients have been transparent in providing receipts, real-time documents and video showing a completely different story than what has been manipulated and cherry-picked to the media,” he told Fox News.
“Our clients have taken this matter and these issues very seriously, notwithstanding the jokes made publicly by the plaintiff and her husband. Her underwhelming amended complaint is filled with unsubstantial hearsay of unnamed persons who are clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims.
“Since documents do not lie and people do, the upcoming depositions of those who initially supported Ms. Lively’s false claims and those who are witnesses to her own behaviour will be enlightening.
“What is truly uncomfortable here is Ms. Lively’s lack of actual evidence.”
The changes come just days after Reynolds alluded to their ongoing legal dispute with Baldoni while attending Saturday Night Live‘s 50th celebrations over the weekend.
Reynolds pictured at SNL 50 on February 16 (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)
The celebrity couple made their first public appearance together since Lively filed the suit last year, with Reynolds taking part in a comedic Q&A.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler asked him how he is, to which the actor replied: “Great. Why? What have you heard?”
People were quick to presume he was alluding to their ongoing legal woes with Baldoni. With this in mind, Baldoni’s lawyer hit out at Reynolds for the alleged quip.
“I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation,” Freedman said during an episode of Hot Mics with Bill Bush.
He added: “I can’t think of anyone who’s done anything like that. So it surprised me.”
It Ends With Us star Justin Baldoni has filed a $250,000,000 lawsuit against The New York Times over a story it published about his interactions with co-star Blake Lively.
The filing comes after Lively filed her own lawsuit against Baldoni on December 20, when she accused her former co-star and director of orchestrating a ‘smear campaign’ against her and allegedly causing her ‘severe emotional distress’ while they worked together on their 2024 romance-drama movie.
Lively also accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, however, Baldoni has denied all of the claims made against him.
Blake Lively and Baldoni starred in It Ends With Us (Sony Pictures)
Now, he’s been named as one of 10 plaintiffs in a new, $250 million lawsuit which was filed on New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The lawsuit accuses The New York Times of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract in relation to its December 21 article, headlined “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.”
The article featured claims about Baldoni, at one point alleging he had ‘repeatedly entered [Lively’s] makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including when she was breastfeeding’.
The claim came from a June 2023 text exchange between herself and Baldoni in which Lively wrote: “I’m just pumping in my trailer if you wanna work out our lines.”
In response, Baldoni wrote: “Copy. Eating with crew and will head that way.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit have claimed The New York Times ‘cherry-picked’ communications and presented them ‘stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead’.
Baldoni has denied the claims made against him (Getty Images/James Devaney)
“The Times story relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives,” the suit claims, alleging Lively took on a ‘strategic and manipulative’ smear campaign of her own and used false ‘sexual harassment allegations to assert unilateral control over every aspect of the production’.
The suit also hits back at a list of demands Lively claimed to have made to Baldoni while on set, alleging: “No such document was ever presented to Baldoni, the [production company] Wayfarer team, or, to their knowledge, anyone else – whether during that meeting or at any other time – and therefore, could not have been agreed to.”
Attorney Bryan Freedman, who filed the lawsuit, told Variety that The New York Times ‘cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative’.
