Brandon Sklenar Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Brandon Sklenar doesn’t want to insert himself into the ongoing saga between his It Ends With Us costars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively.
Appearing on CBS Mornings on Monday, February 17, Sklenar, 34, was asked if he was “Team Justin” or “Team Blake” as the two actors remain embroiled in a legal battle stemming from when they filmed the movie.
“I’m Team It Ends With Us,” Sklenar replied. “I just want people to remember why we made the movie in the first place and what it stands for, just keeping the focus on that. That movie meant so much to me.”
Sklenar’s comments came three days after the legal teams for Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 41, agreed to refuse court mediation for their legal dispute, now set for a March 2026 trial.
Lively is suing Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, alleging sexual harassment and emotional distress in a lawsuit she filed in December 2024. She has accused Baldoni of trying to destroy her reputation and of fostering a “hostile work environment” on the set of the film, which he directed.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in ‘It Ends With Us.’ Sony Pictures Releasing / courtesy Everett Collection
Baldoni has denied the allegations and is suing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation. The couple has denied those allegations as well. Baldoni is seeking $400 million in damages for civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and additional claims.
All the while, It Ends With Us was a box office success, earning $351 million despite mixed reviews. Sklenar prefers to keep the focus on the movie itself, which follows Lily (Lively) as she navigates a new relationship with abusive neurosurgeon Ryle (Baldoni) and reconnects with her high school boyfriend Atlas (Sklenar).
UPDATE 1/16/25 at 12:43 p.m. ET: Justin Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios filed a $400 million lawsuit against It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively and her publicist, Leslie Sloane, on Thursday, January 16. In the 179-page filing obtained by Us Weekly, Baldoni claimed that Lively was “determined” to make him a “real-life villain in her story.” […]
“I have someone very, very close to me in my life who’s gone through what Lily’s going through for a long time and I’ve been on the front lines helping her navigate that space, so that movie meant a lot to me and it means a lot to her, this person in my life,” Sklenar added on Monday. “Me doing that film gave her the strength to change her life. Yeah, it means a lot to me. It’s unfortunate that things get taken away from what the ethos of that thing is, it gets convoluted.”
Reynolds, 48, briefly touched on the controversy as well during his surprise appearance on the SNL 50 Anniversary Special on Sunday, February 16. In a Q&A session with former “Weekend Update” hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Reynolds had a cheeky reply when asked how he was doing.
“[I’m doing] great. Why, what have you heard?” he joked.
