Baldoni initially outlined his allegations against Lively in an 87-page lawsuit he filed Dec. 31 against the Times, accusing the newspaper of libel after it published an explosive story into Lively's claims of harassment and what she called a "smear campaign” aimed at her reputation over the production of "It Ends With Us” (Lively was not named as a party in the lawsuit).

Justin Baldoni bemoaned being banished to the basement by Blake Lively during the It Ends with Us premiere, according to a purported leaked voice message he sent to his associates. The message was played in full on The Megyn Kelly Show during an interview the former Fox News host conducted with Bryan Freedman,

Lively formally filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, his film studio and public relations team after previously filing a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.