Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds ask Judge to drop lawsuit filed by Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have asked a judge to drop the lawsuit filed by Justin Baldoni amid continued controversy between the It Ends With Us costars. Meanwhile A New York judge has set a March 2026 trial date and moved an initial conference from mid-February to next week.

According to a report by Variety, attorneys for the actor couple filed a notice to this effect on Thursday. This is in compliance with an order passed by Judge Lewis Liman and likely to outlined how the case will proceed. He had reportedly requested a one-sentence notice of their intent to file a dismissal motion and will set a deadline for submitting paperwork.

What is the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni feud?

The months-long saga began in mid-August as rumours of a feud followed the release of It Ends With Us. Internet sleuths noted that the stars did not follow each other and many of the cast members were following only Lively.

A report by TMZ suggested at this time that the rift had been caused by ‘fat-shaming’, inappropriate comments and Baldoni kissing Lively for too long during scenes. There was also buzz that the rift had been caused by Lively and Reynolds being ‘too involved’ with the film and its production. It was also around this time that Baldoni hired crisis management and PR professional Melissa Nathan — whose previous clients have included Johnny Depp, Drake and Travis Scott.

The subsequent months saw Lively face immense backlash for her “tone deaf” approach to marketing the film from several quarters. Meanwhile Baldoni — who promoted the movie in a markedly different way — was also awarded a 2024 Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices. The award in early December was conferred for his efforts to “elevate women, combat gender-based violence and promote gender equality worldwide.”

Matters came to a head on December 21 as Lively filed an explosive lawsuit against her former co-star alleging sexual harassment. The lawsuit alleges that she and other cast and crew members of 'It Ends With Us' experienced "invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behaviour" from Baldoni on set. She further accuses him of retaliating against her by working with a crisis PR team to harm her reputation. Baldoni has denied all allegations and filed a $ 400 million counter-lawsuit against Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.

(With inputs from agencies)