IT ENDS WITH...WHO?

IT ENDS WITH… WHO?

WAYFARER PARTIES

LIVELY PARTIES

JAMEY HEATH

STEVE SAROWITZ

RYAN REYNOLDS

STEPHANIE JONES

JUSTIN BALDONI

BLAKE LIVELY

MELISSA NATHAN+ THE AGENCY GROUP

JENNIFER ABEL

Represented by Liner Freedman Taitelman + Cooley LLP.

Represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY

LESLIE SLOANE

WAYFARER STUDIOS

IT ENDS WITH US MOVIE

JED WALLACE

VISION PR, INC

IT ENDS WITH… WHO?

TEAM BALDONI

TEAM LIVELY

THE MAIN CAST

HASAN MINAJ

BRANDON SKLENAR

JENNY SLATE

NEUTRAL / UNKNOWN

COLLEEN HOOVER

ALEX NEUSTAEDTER

ISABELLA FERRER

IT ENDS WITH… WHO?

ASSOCIATED WITH THE

ASSOCIATED WITH THE

LIVELY PARTIES

WAYFARER PARTIES

PERIPHERAL FIGURES

ARI EMMANUEL(WME)

VANZAN INC.

NATASHA HEATH

JOHN KIM

NEUTRAL / UNKNOWN

SCARLETT JOHANSSON

NO MORE

LIZ PLANK

CHRISTY HALL

TEAM TAYLOR SWIFT

MEGAN TWOHEY

HUGH JACKMAN

SONY PICTURES

TAYLOR SWIFT

VENABLE LLP

TRINA ”TREE” PAINE

PAUL FEIG

NICK SHAPIRO

IT ENDS WITH...WHO?

MEDIA RESOURCES

WAYFARERAMENDED COMPLAINT AND TIMELINE

DANCE SCENERAW FOOTAGE

NY TIMESARTICLE

COURT DOCKET

KJERSTI FLAA INTERVIEW ”CAFÉ SOCIETY”

STEPHANIE JONES

President/founder, Jonesworks

Stephanie Jones is the president and founder of Jonesworks, a high-profile entertainment PR agency known for representing major celebrities and brands, with clients like Tom Brady, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Venus Williams, and Jeff Bezos.

• Accused by Wayfarer parties of seizing Abel's phone following her resignation and leaking text messages to the Lively parties
• Allegedly broke a truce between the Lively and Wayfarer parties by approaching a reporter at The Daily Mail.

WAYFARER STUDIOS

Production company

The production company co-founded by Baldoni and Sarowitz, responsible for producing It Ends With Us. Named as a defendant in Lively’s suit and a plaintiff in the countersuit. Wayfarer's mission is to champion "inspirational stories towards social change.”

• In addition to movies "Clouds" and "Five Feet Apart", Wayfarer Studios is also home to Baldoni's "Man Enough" podcast
• Wayfarer Studios produce other movies, such as the directorial debut of actress Scarlett Johansson ("Eleanor The Great") and "A Nice Indian Boy".

RYAN REYNOLDS

Spouse of Blake Lively

Named as a defendant in Baldoni’s countersuit, Reynolds is alleged to have done uncredited rewriting of the script, and was involved with promoting the movie. Lively refers to Reynolds as one of her "dragons" who stands by her.

• Reynolds allegedly berated Baldoni in a meeting with Sony Pictures
• Reynolds allegedly called Baldoni a "predator" in conversation with Baldoni's former talent agency, William Morris Entertainment (WME).
• Reynolds is accused of using Baldoni's likeness for the character "Nicepool" but has not denied it.

ISABELLA FERRER

Actress

Ferrer's role in the legal drama is somewhat controversial. She has made positive remarks of both Lively and Baldoni but has stayed out of the spotlight.

• In a text to Baldoni: “you are such a wonderful, smart and sincere director and you created such a comfortable, safe space for me to feel like I could fully step into this role"
• On Lively: "She greeted me with the warmest hug ever, and from then on, it was just wonderful warmth and friendship. To be able to connect with the person that you're sharing a role with is huge, and she's just a really good person.”

JUSTIN BALDONI

Director, producer, and actor

Baldoni is the primary defendant in Lively’s lawsuit and the lead plaintiff in the countersuit. Baldoni denies all allegations of harrassment and retailiation. Baldoni claims Lively orchestrated a smear campaign and attempted to hijack the film’s creative control.

• Baldoni has published his amended complaint and a timeline (see final page)
• Since then, Baldoni has largely kept a low profile both online and in person.
• Baldoni's Baha'i faith has been subject to scrutiny.

JENNIFER ABEL

Publicist

Representing Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios. Named in both lawsuits, accused by Lively of participating in the alleged smear campaign, and a plaintiff in the countersuit.

• Abel is a former employee of Stephanie Jones and her PR firm Jonesworks.
• Jones obtained Abel's phone following her resignation from Jonesworks. Text messages from the device featured in the New York Times article in December 2024.

HASAN MINAJ

Actor

Minaj has largely stayed out of the legal drama. However, he made a supportive comment about the general experience of making the movie and working on the set for "It Ends With Us". "I can’t speak to other people's experience, but everybody was very professional and cool to me. It was lovely and everybody was lovely."

JOHN KIM

Therapist, author, podcast host

Following the 2024 wildfires in Los Angeles, Kim ("The Angry Therapist") lost his home in the devastation. The Baldoni family offered to provide Kim with a place to stay. Meanwhile, the Baldoni family has relocated elsewhere in the country. Kim said in a post: "I told him I was with another family with two kids so he said bring them. So for the last week and a half, two families have been staying at their home And it has truly been a miracle and a gift. It has given us space, breath and some peace. Kids are playing and laughing.'We are sharing meals and able to reset and figure out our next steps. Their home has been and continues to be so healing in so many ways."

ALEX NEUSTAEDTER

Actor

The young actor has virtually escape involvement with the drama surrounding "It Ends With Us" but does appear in promotional interviews. Although not mentioning Baldoni directly, Neustaedter describes feeling safe and comfortable on set. "I felt really, really safe being able to go to those places," Neustaedter said. "I think the set felt very collaborative and the crew was amazing. The cast was amazing."

VISION PR, INC

Public Relations firm

This PR firm is associated with Sloane and Lively, also named in the countersuit as part of the alleged campaign against Baldoni and Wayfarer

ARIEL "ARI" EMANUEL

Businessman, board member William Morris Entertainment (WME)

Emanuel has been vocally supportive of the Lively parties, and admitted to have fired Baldoni from the talent agency following Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. In leaked audio from a lost episode of the podcast "Freakonomics" Emanuel is heard saying "I fired him [Baldoni]. I’m a ride-or-die! And they’re good people, yeah,” referring to Lively and Reynolds

VANZAN INC.

Company based in Delaware

The Vanzan company is linked to Blake Lively. It became the focus of attention when online sleuths discovered potential involvement of the company in a separate lawsuit to subpoena Stephanie Jones/Jonesworks for information. Among the material requested were the text messages from former Jonesworks employee Jennifer Abel, which were obtained and published in the inflammatory New York Times article that set off the ongoing legal feud. Controversially, the lawsuit against Jonesworks by Vanzan appears to have been closed once the text messages were obtained.(The above is not verified)

TAYLOR SWIFT

Singer-songwriter

Swift needs no introduction, but has featured in the periphery of "It Ends With Us" for her mega celebrity friendship with Lively. Swift's name has appeared in interviews and legal documents. Swift's represenatives insist she has no involvement in the movie, beyond the song "My Tears Ricochet".

• Lively claims "[Swift] was with me on this experience the whole time all throughout it."
• In a text to Baldoni, Lively stated "I'm Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons" [Reynolds and Swift]
• Allegedly, a close source to Swift claims Lively attempted to extort Swift, but it remains unproven.

JED WALLACE

CRISIS CONSULTANT

Wallace is a Texas-based crisis consultant and public relations specialist, known for handling high-profile and sensitive situations for celebrities and corporations. He owns a PR firm called Street Relations.

• In a separate lawsuit, the Lively Parties accuse Wallace of involvement in the smear campaign.
• Wallace has produced as sworn affadavit denying any active involvement in the alleged smear campaign on social media such as Reddit.

LESLIE SLOANE

Publicist

Sloane is the longtime Publicist of both Lively and Reynolds. The Wayfarer parties accuse Sloane of leaking damaging information to the media, allegedly feeding defamatory stories to reporters to damage Baldoni’s reputation and business interests. Sloane denies wrongdoing and seeks to be dismissed.

BLAKE LIVELY

Lead actress, co-producer

Lively filed a civil rights complaint and lawsuit against Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties, alleging sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, and a coordinated campaign to destroy her reputation after she raised concerns.

PAUL FEIG

Director

Feig worked with LIvely on "A Simple Favor" and its 2025 sequel "Another Simple Favor". He has been a vocal defender of Lively amid her conflict with Baldoni. The director described Lively as “an amazing collaborator” and dismissed reports of her being difficult to work with, attributing such claims to misunderstandings about how movie sets operate. Meanwhile Laurie Feig,wife of the director, was seen defending Lively on social media and posing with the actress, as a fan taking selfies, at South By Southwest (SXSW) for the premiere of "Another Simple Favor".

JENNY SLATE

Actress

“As Blake Lively’s cast mate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation,” Slate said. “Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her.”“What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing and wholly threatening," she added. "I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side."

JAMEY HEATH

President Wayfarer Studios, executive producer

Friend and close associate of Baldoni. Accused by Lively of inappropriate behavior on set and named as a defendant in her lawsuit. Heath is also a plaintiff in the countersuit, denying all wrongdoing

• Heath, like Baldoni and Sarowitz, is a follower of the Baha'i faith
• Alongside Baldoni, Heath is a co-host for the "Man Enough" podcast.

NATASHA HEATH

Spouse of Jamey Heath

Natasha Heath features indirectly in the legal documents on two occassions.

• In one, Jamey Heath allegedly used a depiction of a home birth to discuss a vision for a birthing scene in the film. Lively. on her end, claims she saw a "fully nude woman with her legs spread apart" and "thought [J.Heath] was showing her pornography". On Mother's Day 2025, Natasha shared the video on Instagram.
• The other concerns how the two spouses met through Baldoni. Lively claims she was passed on to Heath. Jamey shares that they met after Baldoni invited Natasha to meet a group of friends.

VENABLE LLP

Law firm

Venable LLP operates in Washington DC and represents Taylor Swift. In Spring 2025, Venable were subject to a subpoena from the Wayfarer parties. They hoped to get hold of documentation proving that there is discord between Lively and Swift. However, as of May 2025, the subpoena has been withdrawn by the Wayfarer parties. At the time of writing legal representatives for the Wayfarer parties and sources for Taylor Swift have declined to comment on the matter.

BRANDON SKLENAR

Actor

“For the love of God read this,” Sklenar wrote on his Instagram story on Wednesday, while posting Lively’s sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios. Sklenar played Atlas Corrigan, the childhood sweetheart of Lively’s character in “It Ends With Us.” Sklenar tagged her with a heart emoji on Instagram.

• Sklenar has since declared not wanting to be involved but was seen wearing the same brooch as Baldoni did to the premiere of "It Ends With Us".

COLLEEN HOOVER

Author, "It Ends With Us"

Hoover wrote the best-selling novel the film is based on. In support of Lively, she stated: "You [Lively] have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt"

• Hoover sold options for Baldoni to adapt the book into a movie. The author has been mostly quiet since the legal drama began.
• Notably, Hoover deleted pictures with Lively and Baldoni on Instagram, suggesting a more neutral stance.

HUGH JACKMAN

Actor

Friend of Lively and Reynolds, who filmed "Deadpool and Wolverine" with the latter. The movie was released earlier in 2024, and later became the subject of controversy surrounding the character "Nicepool". As of now, it is unclear if Jackman was aware of any information suggesting Nicepool used Baldoni's likeness, or any allegations of misconduct on "It Ends With Us" from his friends in the Lively parties.

SONY PICTURES

Distributor and co-financier

No clear statement has come from Sony Pictures, but it seems they are caught in the middle of it all.

• Wayfarer claims that a Sony representative was present when Reynolds berated Baldoni.
• Variety asked Sony Pictures whether any HR complaints had been filed against Baldoni during production and was told “no.”
• Sony Pictures Entertainment Chair-CEO Tony Vinciquerra has said that Sony loves "working with Blake, and we want to do 12 more movies with her.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Mass media corporation

Accused by the Wayfarer parties of publishing and propagating falsehoods related to the dispute. It was in December 2024 that The New York Times published "‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine" detailing the allegations against Baldoni on the set of "It Ends With Us"

• Reporter Meghan Twohey won a Pulitzer prize for an exposé on Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, which catalyzed the #MeToo movement.
• The article is found here.

TRINA "TREE" PAINE

Public Relations Executive

Paine is the publicist of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Paine is known for guiding Swift through high-profile moments (for example the feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Swift's trial against radio host David Mueller, and the dispute over Swift's masters). In 2014, Paine announced that she was leaving Warner Music to start her own public relations firm, Premium PR. Swift remains the PR firm's first and only client.

MELISSA NATHAN

Public relations specialist

Hired by Wayfarer Studios and Baldoni to act as a Crisis PR manager. Accused of orchestrating a retaliatory smear campaign against Blake Lively. Named as a defendant in Lively’s lawsuit, and as a plaintiff in the countersuit

• Nathan was previously hired by actor Johnny Depp in a libel lawsuit against actress and ex-wife Amber Heard.

LIZ PLANK

Journalist and podcast host

Liz Plank, journalist and longtime co-host of Justin Baldoni’s "Man Enough" podcast, resigned from the show in December 2024 following Blake Lively’s public sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni during the production of "It Ends With Us".

• Plank also appeared on "Welcome to Wrexham", a documentary about a soccer team owned by Ryan Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney.
• In 2025, Plank announced the launch of a new podcast called "Boy Problems". The show explores gender roles, male loneliness, and modern love with humor and personal insight.

NICK SHAPIRO

Crisis management expert

Shapiro was hired by the Lively parties in early 2025 to consult as a crisis management expert. The appointment of Shapiro has drawn attention for his past experience with the CIA. With a background in national security and experience handling global crises for companies like Airbnb, Shapiro’s involvement underscores the seriousness and complexity of the case

IT ENDS WITH US MOVIE

The legal entity established for the film’s production, named in both lawsuits The movie made a profit of $345,833,324 against a $25 million production budget (Forbes)

• "It Ends With Us" is based on a best-selling novel by author Colleen Hoover.
• Moved by the story of protagonist Lily Bloom, Baldoni secured the rights to the movie after approaching Hoover in 2019.

CHRISTY HALL

Screenwriter

Hall was brought on to "It Ends WIth Us" as a screenwriter to help adapt the book into a movie. She has not made any public comments but features in an apology letter from Lively. It concerns the writing and credit for the "Rooftop" scene. In an interview, Lively stated that her spouse Ryan Reynolds was involved with rewriting that scene. After learning that Hall was blindsided by questions about this revelation, Lively sent an apology email, expressing that she felt “awful” and “mortified” for any hurt caused, clarifying that her intention was only to praise her partner and not to undermine Hall’s work

STEVE SAROWITZ

Investor and Wayfarer executive

Named as a defendant in Lively’s lawsuit and a plaintiff in the countersuit.

• Sarowitz is Baldoni's primary supporter, willing to sponsor the Wayfarer parties with up to $ 100,000,000 in legal fees.
• Like Baldoni and Heath, Sarowitz follows the Baha'i faith.

MEGAN TWOHEY

Investigative reporter

Megan Twohey is a journalist and investigative reporter at The New York Times. She published the article where the details of Lively's California Civil Rights Department complaint was first revealed and reached a wider audience.Previously, Twohey and colleague Jodi Kantor co-wrote a New York Times exposé on sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein. This leadito the 2017 #MeToo movement and awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture in Hollywood. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke.

MEGAN TWOHEY

Investigative reporter

Megan Twohey is a journalist and investigative reporter at The New York Times. She wrote the article where the details of Lively's California Civil Rights Department complaint was first revealed and reached a wider audience.Previously, Twohey and colleague Jodi Kantor co-wrote a New York Times exposé on sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein. This leadito the 2017 #MeToo movement and awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture in Hollywood. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON

Actress, director

Scarlett Johansson is a globally recognized actress, following her roles in "Lost In Translation", the Marvel Cinematic Universe ("Black Widow") and "Her". She was previously in a relationship with Ryan Reynolds who left her to date Blake Lively. Johansson debuted as a movie director at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025 with "Eleanor the Great". The movie centers around a 94-year-old Floridian woman who strikes up a friendship with a 19-year-old student in New York City. It was produced by Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios. With regards to the ongoing legal battle she offered “[Wayfarer] were super supportive throughout the process. But yeah, such weird timing.”

NO MORE

Foundation

The NO MORE Foundation (NO MORE) is dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence by increasing awareness, inspiring action, and fueling culture change. NO MORE says "It Ends With Us" is "a catalyst to increase dialogue, raise awareness, and inspire actions to help end domestic and sexual violence while promoting healthy relationships."To help support survivors and expand its work to prevent domestic and sexual violence, Wayfarer Studios is said to have given a share of its net proceeds to NO MORE.