Blake Lively Says Smear Campaign Around ‘It Ends With Us’ Cost Her $161 Million

Blake Lively says a smear campaign damaged her career and businesses, costing her a huge amount of money.

The actress claims she has suffered $161 million in financial losses connected to the release of It Ends With Us. Her legal team says the attacks against her began after she spoke up about sexual harassment on the movie’s set.

According to court documents made public this week, Lively is accusing several people of being behind the campaign, including her co-star and the film’s director, Justin Baldoni, along with producer Jamey Heath, studio executive Steve Sarowitz, and their publicists. The trial is expected to start next March.

Lively’s lawyers say the smear campaign has deeply hurt her career and reputation. They estimate she’s lost more than $56 million from future acting and producing jobs, speaking opportunities, and brand deals. Her beauty company, Blake Brown, reportedly lost another $49 million, while her drink lines, Betty Buzz and Betty Booze, saw around $22 million in losses.

Her team also believes her image has taken a $34 million hit due to what they describe as a wave of online hate and false claims. They estimate that social media posts targeting her have reached roughly 65 million negative impressions.

The lawsuit was originally filed at the end of 2024, but at the time, her lawyers said only that her damages were more than $75,000. Months later, they shared updated numbers with the defense, saying she had suffered far more harm than first thought. They plan to seek even higher punitive damages, possibly up to three times the current amount.

“These are wish list numbers,” said Los Angeles attorney Gregory Doll. “You want to put a big enough number to get the other side concerned and want to settle.”

Meanwhile, Baldoni had previously claimed he was the one harmed by Lively’s allegations. He filed his own lawsuit, saying her statements cost him about $400 million. That case was thrown out in June after a judge ruled he couldn’t sue over claims made in a legal filing.

Court papers also list a number of Hollywood figures who might have information about the case. The names include Taylor Swift, Emily Blunt, Hugh Jackman, Gigi Hadid, Scooter Braun, Ari Emanuel, and senior Sony executives Tony Vinciquerra and Tom Rothman. Most of them, however, are not expected to appear in court.

Swift’s name has come up several times as Baldoni’s team tried to have her testify, but the court denied those requests.

This lawsuit has already drawn heavy attention across the industry. With the trial set for next year, both sides are preparing for what could be a long and messy legal fight.

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