Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni could go to trial over It Ends With Us allegations
A trial date has been set for Blake Lively and her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
Both actors have filed lawsuits against each other following an initial legal complaint from Lively, who accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film - and an alleged subsequent plan to damage her reputation.
Baldoni then sued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of hijacking both the production and marketing of the film, as well as allegedly attempting to smear him and others who worked on the production through false allegations.
It Ends With Us is an adaptation of best-selling US author Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel, which begins as a romance but takes a dark turn into domestic violence.
The film exceeded box office expectations following its release in August, but was overshadowed by online speculation of a fall-out between the two co-stars, who were not pictured together at the film's premiere. Neither did they do interviews together during promotion.
New York federal judge Lewis J Liman has now set a trial date for March 2026.
It comes after Lively's legal team claimed in a filing on Monday that a lawyer for Baldoni was trying to influence potential jurors by creating a website to release selected documents and communications between the pair.
"The endless stream of defamatory and extrajudicial media statements must end," Lively's lawyers said.
Bryan Freedman, who is representing Baldoni, said in a statement in response that they would "respect the court", but added: "All we want is for people to see the actual text messages that directly contradict her allegations, video footage that clearly shows there was no sexual harassment and all the other powerful evidence that directly contradicts any false allegations."
Meanwhile in Texas, in a separate filing - a precursor to another potential lawsuit - Lively has asked for an order for a deposition for a crisis management specialist she claims was behind much of the alleged social media manipulation surrounding the film that turned public sentiment against her.
How the legal case unfolded
In late December, Lively sued Baldoni, his production company and others in New York for sexual harassment and attacks on her reputation, asking for unspecified damages.
Baldoni filed his lawsuit earlier this month, accusing Lively and her husband, Deadpool star and Wrexham FC co-owner Reynolds, of defamation and extortion. He is seeking at least $400m (£321m) in damages.
The judge said on Monday that he will likely combine the lawsuits for trial.
Earlier in January, Baldoni also sued The New York Times newspaper for libel after it published allegations about him.
Lively starred in the 2005 film The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants before rising to fame in the TV series Gossip Girl from 2007 to 2012. She is also known for films including The Town and The Shallows.
Baldoni is known for the TV comedy series Jane The Virgin and for directing the 2019 film Five Feet Apart. He also wrote Man Enough - a book pushing back against traditional notions of masculinity.
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