Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds put on united front amid Justin Baldoni lawsuit
Hollywood A-listers Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds smiled and appeared carefree during their latest outing as their feud with actor Justin Baldoni intensified.
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Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were all smiles in a new Instagram selfie — as their nasty legal battle with Justin Baldoni continues.
In the photo shared as Reynolds’ Instagram story on Monday, the pair flashed grins for the camera while posing on a street at night-time.
Reynolds, who was dressed in a black-and-white plaid jacket and glasses, wrapped his arm around Lively, 37, who snapped the selfie while wearing a brown coat.
The post with the snapshot of the couple was accompanied by the Hootie & the Blowfish 1994 love song “Only Wanna Be with You.”
They have four children: daughters James, 10, Inez, 8, and Betty, 5, and son Olin, 1.
The couple have mostly been laying low since Lively filed her lawsuit against Baldoni in December 2024, accusing her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director of sexually harassing her on the set of the film.
The “Gossip Girl” alum also claimed that Baldoni and his team — including producer Jamey Heath and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, who are all also being sued by Lively — of allegedly orchestrating a public relations smear campaign against her.
The happy-snap comes as Lively’s legal team said they are “very happy” with their first day in court despite failing to gag Baldoni’s lawyer or have him take down a website he has launched to upload his legal arguments.
Lively’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb and Ezra Hudson gave a statement to Deadline about their first day in court on Monday.
“We are pleased with the result of today’s hearing and eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case,” the statement read.
“The Court granted our request that all attorneys in the matter actually follow the rule of law and not make any statements that could prejudice a jury.
“This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation.
“We will hold the defendants accountable, and we are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms Lively will prevail.”
Meanwhile Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said he “couldn’t be more pleased with how the case was handled today.”
The New York Post reported Manhattan federal judge Lewis Liman instructed lawyers for both Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds and for Baldoni not to make “extrajudicial statements” that could sway potential jurors in advance of a March 2026 trial.
“You’ve got a lot in front of the court that gives, I think, the public plenty to feast upon,” Liman said at the end of the first court hearing in the duelling litigation fight over alleged harassment on the set of It Ends With Us.
He noted that he wanted to avoid the case devolving into “satellite litigation involving the statements of a lawyer.”
The agreement came after Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman, admitted that his squabble with Lively’s lawyer Gottlieb over what each side has said to the media was childish.
“Not to sound like a four-year-old fighting a four-year-old with ‘They started it,’ but in these kinds of cases, once someone says something it becomes fact: There’s no way to fight against it,” Freedman said.
Baldoni’s new site, which was first reported by TMZ Saturday, links to an amended version of the $A642 million defamation and extortion lawsuit he filed against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and the actor’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, on January 16.
It also links to a 168-page document detailing a timeline of relevant events related to the case.
It includes never-before-seen texts, emails and other messages Baldoni allegedly exchanged with Lively and her husband Reynolds throughout the production process for the 2024 film It Ends With Us.
Among the newly released messages is one from April 2023, in which Lively — while discussing a rewrite of the movie’s rooftop scene — allegedly wrote to Baldoni: “If you knew me (in person) longer you’d have a sense of how flirty and yummy the ball busting will play. It’s my love language. Spicy and playfully bold, never with teeth….”
Another text from February 2023 shows the Deadpool star, 48, allegedly texting Baldoni: “I’m excited for you to work together. I’m excited for Blake to crack open her creative piggy bank with someone as dynamic as you. This is gonna be INCREDIBLE. I happen to adore you, Justin.”
Reps for Lively, Reynolds and Baldoni did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
It appears Baldoni is hitting back at several of Lively’s claims on the site as he also included screenshots of alleged correspondence with the film’s intimacy co-ordinator.
He shared texts showing his alleged attempts to address Lively’s claims that he made her feel “uncomfortable” while working together with sexually suggestive comments and remarks about her post-partum body.
Lively initially filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on Dec. 20, alleging that Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set of the film.
She also claimed the actor and director then launched an orchestrated smear campaign to tarnish her reputation.
The A Simple Favour star filed a formal lawsuit against Baldoni on December 31 in New York Federal Court.
The site comes after Lively and Reynolds requested a gag order for Baldoni’s lawyer, Brian Freedman, who the couple argued was likely to “taint a potential jury” with his public remarks regarding the legal case.
Their case is currently set for a March 2026 trial date.
All parties are expected to attend the first hearing on Monday.
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