(NewsNation) — It’s the real-life drama that’s rocking Hollywood.

“It Ends With Us” should have marked Blake Lively’s triumphant comeback to the screen after she put her career on hold to have children. The film was also the big league debut of actor, director and producer Justin Baldoni.

For bestselling author Colleen Hoover, this would have been the first film adaptation of her significant literary empire. Despite the film making more than $300 million worldwide, all but guaranteeing a sequel should be in the works, the movie has been marred with accusations of sexual harassment and manipulation, pornography, fat-shaming, a ballooning budget and a high-stakes court battle between Lively and Baldoni worth $650 million.

“This is not ‘he said, she said.’ This is not black and white. This is the greatest case I have ever seen — trying to understand what actually happened between these two,” legal expert Jesse Weber told NewsNation. “This could arguably be one of the most convoluted cases I have seen in quite some time.”

6 lawsuits tied to Colleen Hoover’s ‘It Ends With Us’ film

As of Tuesday, June 10, there have been six lawsuits tied to the film, and there could be more — lawsuits that most people in Hollywood hope never see the light of day. Alison Boshoff, the Daily Mail’s entertainment reporter, said, “I don’t think that the Hollywood machine has enjoyed this.”

Weber even said that “no one wants this to end up in court.”

But what really happened? Is this a case of sexual harassment and retaliation, or a masterful manipulation by a Hollywood starlet to seize control of a film from a first-time director?

Lively says Baldoni and his producing partner, Jamie Heath, crossed the line several times during the making of the film. However, Baldoni says that Lively was a bullying brat who used her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and powerful friends (like Taylor Swift) to take over his film. Baldoni’s lawsuit was dismissed in June.

Blake Lively’s popularity soars with ‘Gossip Girl’

Lively was first introduced to audiences as Bridget, the vulnerable yet self-destructive bestie in the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”

However, it was her portrayal of “it girl” Serena Van der Woodsen in the hit TV series “Gossip Girl” for six seasons that cemented her as a bankable Hollywood star.

“You only have to look at Gossip Girl, you know. This is a million years ago, almost before the internet — 20 years ago or something — and people were talking about how she didn’t get on with her costars,” Boshoff said. “People were saying that she had got Armie Hammer fired from his role on the show.”

Lively went on to score roles in several films, including “The Town” and “The Age of Adaline.” It was on the set of the 2011 film “The Green Lantern” where she met Reynolds, and the two married a year later.

“They’re both very good looking, and they’re both pretty successful, and he [Reynolds] has got the nicest, nicest, nice guy reputation. … And you think, ‘Well, I did hear she was mean on the set of “Gossip Girl,” but that was a long time ago,'” Boshoff explained.

Justin Baldoni became famous after ‘Jane the Virgin’

If Baldoni looks familiar, it’s because he rose to fame as Rafael Solano on the satirical telenovela “Jane the Virgin.” He then went viral for his 2017 TED Talk, where he talked about redefining masculinity.

“Your strength, your bravery, your toughness: Are you brave enough to be vulnerable? Are you strong enough to be sensitive? Are you confident enough to listen to the women in your life?” Baldoni said during the TED Talk.

Taylor Swift, Hugh Jackman could be involved in case

Hoover, the best-selling author of “It Ends With Us,” has written 23 books so far, selling over 20 million copies. At one point, she expressed her support for Lively in her Instagram stories, but those posts are no longer available.

Swift, one-time besties with Lively, and Reynolds’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” co-star, Hugh Jackman — along with producers, lawyers, agents and even Disney — have been ensnared in this case.

“This is kind of like the Titanic of Hollywood scandals, in which careers could actually be destroyed. It could literally sink these careers,” NewNation’s Paula Froelich said. “At first, it seemed like they were all getting along … and then about a month or two into filming, it became not fun.”

Issues on ‘It Ends With Us’ set allegedly involve fat shaming

In the film, Lively played Lily Bloom, and Baldoni played Ryle Kincaid, her abusive romantic partner. Pre-production for the movie started in March 2023, with filming starting in May 2023.

However, filming was paused a month later due to the writer’s strike in Hollywood, and production didn’t pick back up until early 2024. But almost from the very beginning, there were reportedly issues on the set, with tensions rising over accusations of intimidation and fat-shaming.

There was also allegedly a struggle for creative control between Lively and Baldoni. According to Baldoni’s lawsuit, Lively allegedly asserted her “creativity” early on, rewriting the famous rooftop scene and inviting Baldoni to her apartment to discuss it. This is where Swift and Reynolds allegedly popped in to say how much they loved Lively’s version of the scene.

Baldoni says he capitulated and adopted the rewritten scene but acknowledged in a text to Lively that he would have used it with or without Reynolds’ and Swift’s input. His lawsuit stated:

“Baldoni felt obliged to text Lively to say that he had liked her pages… and he hadn’t needed Reynolds and her megacelebrity friend to pressure him. Lively responded that the two were her ‘dragons…’ and she referred to herself as ‘Khaleesi’ from Game of Thrones.”

However, in a red carpet interview, Lively gave the credit for the rewritten scene to her husband. “The iconic rooftop scene in the movie — my husband actually wrote it,” Lively told E! News.

Justin Baldoni says Ryan Reynolds had outburst over fat-shaming claims

The lawsuit also stated that this wasn’t the only confrontation at Lively’s apartment. Baldoni claims a meeting was called by Lively with him and other team members, including Oscar-nominated producer Todd Black. During the meeting, Lively allegedly asked to join the production.

Baldoni also claims that Reynolds exploded over Lively’s allegations of fat shaming. When Baldoni tried to defend himself, he claimed the outburst worsened. Later, Baldoni claimed that Black was in shock and told him he’d never seen anything like that in the 40 years he had been in the business.

Blake Lively accuses Justin Baldoni of not meeting film industry standards

Lively alleges in her lawsuit that Baldoni cast a close friend to play the role of Lively’s doctor, who is featured in the birthing scene. The lawsuit states that Baldoni failed to meet film industry standards while filming nude scenes, and Lively “felt forced into a compromise that she would be naked from below the chest down.”

Baldoni disputed those claims in his amended lawsuit, detailing the clothes he says Lively was wearing: black briefs and a pregnancy suit as well as a hospital gown.

All of this is alleged to be happening during production … and by the summer, just in time for the marketing push of the film, the behind-the-scenes drama explodes into the limelight.

Timeline of events: Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni drama

August 6, 2024: The film’s premiere in New York City is a star-studded affair. Lively and Reynolds are center stage on the red carpet, along with Baldoni and Lively’s co-stars Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate. Justin Baldoni doesn’t make an appearance.

Corey Andrew, a pop culture commentator, said, “Apparently, he [Baldoni] claims he was kept away from the red carpet. … He feels like he was treated like, you know, a second-class citizen. … And he is not very happy about how he felt like he was being dissed and stuck in a basement during the premiere of his big film.”

It was only after the other stars walked the red carpet that Baldoni appeared, keeping a low profile on what should have been a big night for the director.

Fans also started noticing that Lively, other cast members and Hoover unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram.

August 9: The film debuts at the box office with a massive opening weekend at $80 million worldwide.

But by now, Lively is getting called out for promoting her products, including her hair care line and alcoholic drinks, during the press junket as well as the tone deaf “grab your girlfriends and wear your florals” marketing campaign for a film about domestic violence.

August 13: Baldoni hires PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan to work with his PR team, which is led by Jennifer Abel.

Text messages revealed later in lawsuits and in The New York Times appear to show Nathan and Abel plotting against Lively. Criticism of Lively continued to swirl in the media during the press tour, with fans accusing the actress of not taking the film’s subject matter seriously enough.

August 20: Nearly two weeks after the film’s debut, Sklenar appears to side with Lively in a social media post. He wrote:

“Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about. It is, in fact, the opposite of the point.”

Blake Lively files suit against Justin Baldoni

December 20: After months of speculation and rumors chipping away at Lively’s image, she files a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department. She accuses him of “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on the set of “It Ends With Us.”

The lawsuit claims that this behavior led to a “hostile work environment.”

“Blake Lively’s complaint is incredibly serious. … And instead of going public and immediately telling everybody what was going on, she tried to work this out behind the scenes,” Weber said. “She claims that Justin Baldoni and his team … worked to discredit her in the media and online, that there was a fear that she could come forward with her allegations.”

The next day, The New York Times published a scathing article, detailing Blake Lively’s allegations along with private messages that appear to show a smear campaign engineered by Baldoni’s team.

The article sends shockwaves through Hollywood, and Baldoni is dropped from his talent agency, William Morris Endeavor.

December 31: Baldoni files a lawsuit against The New York Times, claiming that the media outlet “cherry-picked” texts to mislead the audience. Then, Lively files a lawsuit against Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios, his PR team and others, claiming that Baldoni and Wayfarer orchestrated a public retaliatory attack to discredit and silence her.

Early January 2025: Baldoni’s legal team accuses Reynolds of making fun of Baldoni with the “Deadpool & Wolverine” character “Nicepool” that fans say is a caricature of Baldoni.

Baldoni’s lawyer reportedly demanded that Disney and Marvel preserve any documents about Nicepool’s development.

Justin Baldoni files countersuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds

January 16: Baldoni files a countersuit against Lively and Reynolds for $400 million. The lawsuit, which also targets Lively’s PR woman Leslie Sloan and her company, paints a very different picture of what he says went on during filming.

“He [Baldoni] said … I will show you, through text messages, through video evidence, that there is a lot more to this story. And not only did Blake Lively defame me and weaponize false allegations against me, she conspired with The New York Times to publish a hit piece against him right after she filed her initial complaint,” Weber said.

February 1: Baldoni and his team publish their entire lawsuit on thelawsuitinfo.com, as well as their version of a “timeline of events,” including texts and video dating as far back as January 2019.

February 3: The judge in the case warns both teams to rein in the PR and stop litigating the case in the media.

February 4: Baldoni reveals notes from a meeting with an intimacy coordinator on the set — a meeting that Lively allegedly skipped. He also reveals screenshots that appear to be texts between him and Lively where he offers to set up a time for her to meet with that coordinator.

February 19: Lively files an amended complaint against Baldoni, alleging there is additional evidence and corroboration of her original claims.

June 9: The countersuit was dropped by a judge.

Blake Lively plans to take the stand during 2026 trial

May 8: Lively’s lawyer, Mike Gottlieb, speaks to People magazine, confirming that the actress will testify in the upcoming trial. He also suggests that the claims against her husband, Reynolds, are frivolous.

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, pushes back in a statement to People, saying:

“Ryan’s involvement is very well documented … was Disney actually complicit in Ryan using shareholder revenues to further a personal grudge?”

June 2: Lively files to dismiss her original claims of emotional distress. The next day, June 3, Judge Lewis Liman ruled that the claims would not remain active. It was Lively’s claims of emotional distress that led to Baldoni’s lawyers requesting that she release her medical records to the director’s team. This included information on her mental health providers and therapy notes.

Since Lively refused, the judge said she can’t change her mind, and she can’t refile these claims.

June 9: In a surprising move, Liman dismisses Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively and The New York Times, saying, in part:

“The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and (publicist Leslie) Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign. But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law.”

Depositions to start in August

The trial is now set for March of 2026, with depositions scheduled for August 2025, which could include testimony from the cast members on set to the PR reps, Disney and Marvel executives, agents and some celebrity friends, like Jackman.

As of June, the friendship between Lively and Swift is fractured, and they haven’t been seen together in over a year. In a statement released to People, Swift’s spokesperson said:

“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie. She was not involved in any casting or creative decisions… the connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet.'”

Andrew said, “That deposition could reveal text messages, emails, the call records and give a much more clear timeline, like chronologically, of what really happened.”

‘Best-case scenario’ would be for Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni to settle: Expert

One of the big questions remaining: How did Lively end up with Baldoni’s text messages?

“This aspect of the case is major … they said they got it through a subpoena. But how did everybody know about this?” Weber said. “Well, Justin Baldoni has come forward and said that his former publicist, the former boss of Jennifer Abel, was the one who actually provided all of these messages to Blake Lively’s side.”

That boss, Stephanie Jones, has denied these allegations, according to Weber, and said that Baldoni, Abel and Nathan had been working against her to “steal” her clients.

While we wait for this to play out in court, reputations for all of the major players are now at stake.

“The best-case scenario for both of them would be to settle,” Andrew explained. “They are doing damage to their brand.”