Sony Pictures
Blake Lively is claiming that the ongoing legal drama with It Ends with Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni has left her four children “traumatized.” Court documents also suggest the ordeal has led to Lively suffering from symptoms of depression.
The legal drama between Justin Baldoni, who directed and starred in It Ends with Us, and Blake Lively, who starred in and produced the film, has been brewing for a few months now.
In December, Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni of harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign, which then prompted Baldoni to file a $400 million countersuit that alleged extortion, defamation and breach of contract. Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds and her PR rep Leslie Sloane were also named in the suit.
In newly obtained court documents, Lively’s legal team argues that her children — James, Inez, Betty, and Olin — have been “traumatized” by the legal ordeal, which began in 2024 and could continue into next year, as the judge in the case expects the trial to begin in March 2026.
“[Lively’s four children] are allegedly ‘traumatized,’ the actress claimed in her amended complaint filed in New York federal court Tuesday.”
“The court document, obtained by Page Six, went on to say that James, 10, Inez, 8, Betty, 5, and Olin, 2, have been ’emotionally uprooted in ways that have substantially impacted their well-being.’”
The court docs also paint a picture of Lively suffering from symptoms of depression, such as not wanting to get out of bed. Lively was in attendance at the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special over the weekend with Reynolds, where he cracked a joke about the ongoing ordeal.
“She [Lively] 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,” the court doc says.
Despite grossing over $350 million at the global box office against a $25 million budget, a sequel to It Ends with Us, which is currently streamong on Netflix, is highly unlikely given the ongoing legal drama surrounding the franchise.