Months after the release of the film It Ends with Us, its co-leads, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, are still locked in a legal battle. The situation was set in motion after Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni, his production company, Wayfarer Studios and others in December 2024. The subsequent back-and-forth has mainly been between Lively and Baldoni/Wayfarer Studios, but some may wonder where that leaves the film’s distributor, Sony Pictures. Well, a source claims the company is currently in a precarious position.
Sony Pictures only signed up to distribute and co-finance the book-to-film adaptation from Colleen Hoover, as mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter. However, since behind-the-scenes conflicts arose between two of the film’s key stars, the studio has had to serve as something of a mediator throughout this time. An unnamed veteran studio executive spoke with the trade, calling the entire situation a mess. Sony itself has yet to provide formal comment about the ongoing matter.
Rumors of creative clashes between Justin Baldoni (who also directed IEWU) and Blake Lively (a co-producer) began to surface in August 2024. It was alleged around that time that Lively commissioned a second cut of the film, which reportedly went to theaters. Baldoni allegedly had no knowledge of the fact that his cut wouldn’t be used, and he’s since claimed that he didn’t see the cut until the film’s premiere. One of the film’s editors later told CinemaBlend that it’s commonplace for multiple cuts of a film to exist but wouldn’t address the drama.
Blake Lively’s complaint involved accusations of sexual harassment against Justin Baldoni, who she later claimed created problems for two other women. She also accused Baldoni and his team of launching a smear campaign against her, and later sued him and Wayfarer over those same allegations. Baldoni denied the claims and eventually countersued Lively, Reynolds and more for alleged extortion, defamation and more for $400 million. He also filed a lawsuit against the New York Times (which initially published the claims) for $250 million.
When it came to the reported on-set conflicts, Sony production exec Ange Giannetti reportedly received a message from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants actress. She reached out to express concerns over the conduct of her director as well as Jamey Heath, the head of Wayfarer. Initially, Giannetti explained that complaints had to be filed with Wayfarer, given Sony was only the distributor, though the actress revealed her doubts that WF would hear her out.
It’s said that Ange Giannetti did take the matter seriously and voiced Blake Lively’s concerns with Wayfarer. Ultimately, Blake Lively opted not to file an HR complaint with the production company, instead listing her concerns in the aforementioned complaint.
As the legal situation has continued, more individuals have spoken out about what the atmosphere was supposedly like on set. Justin Baldoni’s religious faith, Baha’i, is said to have influenced the way he worked with people on set. Anonymous crew members spoke to that point, saying that Baldoni fostered a non-hierarchical kind of workplace on his sets. That aside, the actor and filmmaker was also slammed by WME talent agency head Ari Emmanuel, who fired him from the company after claims against him surfaced and referred to him as "bologna."
Sony isn’t technically wrapped up in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal drama. However, its execs could find themselves facing subpoenas should the case go to court as planned. The trial date is currently set for March 9, 2026.
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