This past December, four months after the release of It Ends With Us, Blake Lively sued her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment, alleging that he also led a coordinated effort to damage her professional reputation during the film’s promotion. In a legal complaint filed in late December, Lively claimed that Baldoni had enlisted the services of Melissa Nathan—a crisis PR specialist whose previous clients include Johnny Depp—to aid in this effort.

Lively’s complaint further alleged that Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath fostered a toxic work environment during filming. In early 2024, upon returning to the set of It Ends With Us following the previous year’s guild strikes, Lively reportedly called a meeting with Baldoni and several producers. According to court documents, she requested that Baldoni and Heath cease “showing nude videos or images of women, including a producer’s wife, to BL and/or her employees,” among other inappropriate behaviors. (She also requested the presence of an intimacy coordinator on set.)

Baldoni’s legal team called the suit “shameful” and full of “categorically false accusations”—but the drama didn’t end there. Below, find a full timeline of the various accusations exchanged between Lively and Baldoni, and see how Ryan Reynolds, Nathan’s PR firm, and others factor into the mess.

December 20, 2024: Lively files a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department

Lively’s original complaint accused Baldoni of sexual harassment during filming, as well as retaliation against Lively when she attempted to stand up against his misbehavior.

December 21, 2024: The New York Times publishes a lengthy investigation into the PR machine Baldoni summoned to help smear Lively

The same day, it was reported that WME had dropped Baldoni as a client, although the talent agency publicly insisted that Lively and Reynolds, both of whom are represented by WME, weren’t behind its decision.

December 31, 2024: Lively formally sues Baldoni, his film studio Wayfarer, and his PR team

Although Lively had already gone public with her California Civil Rights Department complaint earlier in December, the lawsuit she filed in New York federal court on Tuesday, December 31, specifically named Baldoni, Wayfarer, and PR representatives Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel for subjecting her to “further retaliation and attacks” after her participation in the New York Times story. “Ms. Lively has brought this litigation in New York, where much of the relevant activities described in the Complaint took place, but we reserve the right to pursue further action in other venues and jurisdictions as appropriate under the law,” said one of Lively’s attorneys.

December 31, 2024: Baldoni and his publicity team sue The New York Times for libel

Baldoni’s own 87-page legal complaint, which he filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleged that The New York Times relied “almost entirely” on Lively’s “unverified” narrative, and accused her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of being “aggressive” toward Baldoni during a meeting in New York City. (It should be noted that said aggression was allegedly an accusation, on Reynolds’s part, that Baldoni had fat-shamed Lively, a practice that’s sadly still all too common in Hollywood.) Baldoni intended to sue The New York Times for $250 million in damages.

January 16, 2025: Baldoni, Wayfarer, Nathan & Abel file a counter lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds

Baldoni then filed a lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds, suing them for $400 million in damages. The suit, filed in a New York court, is based on claims of defamation, civil extortion, and invasion of privacy.

In it, Lively is accused of breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and both Lively and Reynolds are accused of intentional interference with contractual relations and economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage. The plaintiffs also denied Lively’s claims of harassment, and claim both Lively and Reynolds hijacked the production and marketing of It Ends With Us. They also allege in the case that Lively worked with the media to enact her own smear campaign against Baldoni.