Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s Conflict ‘Is Not a Celebrity Feud’: Source

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s conflict is “not a celebrity feud,” a source close to the matter tells Us Weekly.

“Blake Lively has alleged she was sexually harassed in the workplace and retaliated against,” the insider exclusively told Us on Monday, February 3. “This is not a celebrity feud, this is not drama, this is real.”

The insider continued: “Baldoni appeared to admit that Blake voiced concerns, Baldoni and his team also appeared to agree that they planned to attack Blake and we have all seen their texts bragging and laughing at how negatively the narrative had shifted against Blake. The public may have been duped once, but nobody should be duped again.”

The news broke in December 2024 that Lively, 37, had sued Baldoni, 41, for sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us. The actress subpoenaed thousands of pages of texts, emails and documents, which were posted by The New York Times in its blockbuster coverage of Lively’s complaint. She also accused Baldoni and his crisis management team of coordinating a scheme to destroy her reputation in an effort to squash the harassment claims.

Baldoni, who costarred with Lively in the film and served as director, denied the allegations and countersued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist, Leslie Sloane, seeking $400 million in damages. (He also sued the NYT for $250 million. The outlet responded to the defamation suit at the time, calling it “rife with inaccuracies.”)

To further attempt to prove his innocence, Baldoni’s team created a website that went public on Saturday, February 1, revealing text message that Baldoni allegedly exchanged with Lively. Prior to the site launch, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman told Us in a statement: “We will not be selective, we will not cherry pick and we will not doctor text messages. Both Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds do not yet understand that there isn’t one rule for them and one rule for everybody else.”

Earlier on Monday, Lively and Baldoni’s attorneys appeared in their first court hearing in New York City. During a 90-minute session, federal judge Lewis J. Liman stated that their March 2026 trial date could be moved up if their legal battle continues to be “litigated in the press.”

Judge Liman also signaled that Team Baldoni’s site, thelawsuitinfo.com, would potentially be removed from the record.

Following the hearing, Lively’s legal team told Us that they’re “pleased with the result” and “eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case. The Court granted our request that all attorneys in the matter actually follow the rule of law and not make any statements that could prejudice a jury. This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. We will hold the defendants accountable, and we are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms. Lively will prevail.”

Baldoni’s lawyers, meanwhile, told Us, “Our clients are devastated and want to move the case along as quickly as possible. We just couldn’t be more pleased with how the case was handled today, how it was managed. We’re going to move as quickly as we possibly can and prove our innocence, in a world where sometimes people judge you before they give you a chance. And we’re going to change that.”