Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have exchanged sharp words, concerning accusations and a myriad of legal complaints since their hit film “It Ends With Us” was released in August of last year. If you’re not up to date on the saga, here’s an explainer on all the controversy surrounding the movie, its co-stars and the lawsuits that followed. How the Lively/Baldoni feud started Once “It Ends With Us” hit theaters on Aug. 9, it was clear the cast, particularly Blake Lively, were distancing themselves from co-star and director Baldoni. Cindy Ord/Getty ImagesBrandon Sklenar, Blake Lively, and Ryan Reynolds attend the “It Ends With Us” New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 06, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) At the film’s New York premiere that month, fans noticed Baldoni wasn’t photographed with the rest of the cast. In fact, it appears none of them took pictures with the movie’s director. Instead, he posed on the red carpet separately with his wife, Emily Baldoni. This ignited social media speculation about the relationship between the movie’s lead stars. Rumors further intensified when, during promotion for the film, Lively wouldn’t directly answer any questions about what it was like working with Baldoni. In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, the actress was asked how the two actors built trust ahead of filming such emotionally charged scenes. “This movie was such a challenge,” she responded. “Because you have scenes that are deeply painful and traumatic and physical, but you also have scenes that are full of levity and light and romance.” Viewers immediately called out the 37-year-old actress for not mentioning Baldoni in her answer at all. Though it didn’t dampen the film’s box office success, the perception of Lively quickly went sour after her marketing efforts fell flat in interviews, with many saying she seemed tone-deaf and made light of the film’s somber subject matter. While public opinion turned on Lively, Baldoni was being celebrated for putting the topic of domestic violence at the center of his press run. Stories also circulated that Lively used her celebrity status to take creative control from Baldoni. She was accused of bringing in husband Ryan Reynolds to do last-minute rewrites and of hiring her own editor, resulting in two different cuts of the film. But months later, things took an even more dramatic turn when Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and a subsequent effort to publicly smear her reputation. Lively’s complaints against Baldoni Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in December, accusing him of “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” while she was on the set. In documents obtained by TMZ, Lively alleged that she was subjected to unwanted sexual conversations and added sex scenes that she had not approved when signing onto the film. The actress said a meeting was held to address the “hostile work environment,” where Baldoni was told to stop showing Lively photos and videos of nude women, stop mentioning his “alleged previous pornography addiction” or prior sexual conquests, and to stop referring to the cast and crew’s genitalia. She also requested there be “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex, or on-camera climaxing by Lively outside the scope of the script Lively approved.” Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are seen on the set of ‘It Ends with Us’ on January 12, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) While Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, which he co-founded, appeared to agree to her requests, Lively claimed they soon embarked on a retaliatory “social manipulation” campaign designed to “destroy” her reputation, which caused her “severe emotional distress.” Baldoni responds to Lively’s lawsuit Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, slammed the “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” allegations, claiming the “Gossip Girl” alum was merely scrambling to “fix her negative reputation.” He added that Lively was the one who contributed to a hostile work environment, “threatening to not show up to set [and] threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release.” The New York Times releases report After TMZ’s initial report, The New York Times followed up with an article further detailing Baldoni’s alleged misconduct and his “coordinated” smear campaign. Lively claimed Baldoni “had improvised unwanted kissing and discussed his sex life, including encounters in which he said he may not have received consent,” the Times report read. She alleged that he and lead producer Jamey Heath “repeatedly entered her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including when she was breastfeeding.” Blake Lively attends the “It Ends With Us” New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 06, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) The Times story also described text messages, obtained through subpoena and included in Lively’s filing, which allegedly outlined Baldoni’s desire to “eviscerate” the actress if she went public with her concerns. A message from a studio PR rep suggested Baldoni wanted “to feel like Lively can be buried.” “You know we can bury anyone,” allegedly replied crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, who went on to warn against putting their plans for a takedown in writing. “When we send over documents we can’t send over the work we will or could do because that could get us in a lot of trouble. We can’t write we will destroy her,” Nathan responded. “Imagine if a document saying all the things that he wants ends up in the wrong hands.” Baldoni’s lawyer then released a statement to the Times claiming Lively had enlisted her own PR rep to “plant negative and completely fabricated” stories about Baldoni, which was “another reason why Wayfarer Studios made the decision to hire a crisis professional.” Baldoni sues The New York Times for $250 million A week and a half after the New York Times report, Baldoni, his producers and PR reps filed a $250 million lawsuit against the paper, alleging it “cherry-picked” texts and edited communications to be “stripped of necessary context.” Justin Baldoni attends the “It Ends With Us” New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 06, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) The 87-page complaint accused the Times of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract. Baldoni quoted text messages between himself and Lively, which he claimed refuted many of her allegations. In response to the complaint, the New York Times released a statement saying their story was “responsibly reported,” and based on the review of “thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.” Baldoni’s lawyer promises receipts The drama carried over into the new year, with Baldoni’s attorney promising to release evidence that would show Lively’s “pattern of bullying and threats to take over the movie,” as well as her own orchestration of a “vicious attack” against Baldoni. “Lively used other people to communicate those threats and bully her way to get whatever she wanted,” Freedman told People on Jan. 7. “We have all the receipts and more.”