Justin Baldoni ‘suffering emotional stress’ amid fallout from his Blake Lively legal battle
Fresh comments from Adam Mondschein have shed light on the emotional toll the It Ends With Us courtroom saga allegedly took on Justin Baldoni following his high-profile clash with Blake Lively.
Justin Baldoni is said to be suffering “emotional stress” from his long-running legal battle with Blake Lively.
According to the filmmaker’s friend and It Ends With Us co-star Adam Mondschein, Justin, 42, has been left drained by his public dispute with actress Blake, 38, after it dominated Hollywood headlines for months.
Justin became embroiled in a bitter legal war with Blake after she filed a complaint in December 2024 accusing him of sexual harassment and fostering a toxic working environment during production on It Ends With Us, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel.
Justin denied the allegations and later launched a $400 million countersuit against Blake, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their public relations team, accusing them of defamation and extortion.
The legal saga – which unfolded against the backdrop of intense scrutiny around workplace conduct in Hollywood and ongoing conversations sparked by the #MeToo movement – recently eventually concluded with a reported last-minute settlement after several of the claims on both sides had already been dismissed in court.
Adam Mondschein, who portrayed Dr Dunbar in the film’s controversial delivery-room scene, said the emotional impact on Baldoni had been severe.
Adam told Page Six in a new interview: “It’s a big burden to carry. It’s just like the weight and the emotional stress that this puts on him.”
He added: “(Justin is) a real person. To maintain the knowledge that that’s not who you are, that’s exhausting.”
Adam also claimed Baldoni’s “heart is broken” and insisted the director “really cares” and has “integrity”.
The actor previously defended Justin publicly after Blake alleged she had experienced sexual harassment while filming the romantic drama, which became one of the year’s most discussed literary adaptations.
The project had originally been viewed as a major milestone for Justin, who first rose to fame starring as Rafael Solano in Jane the Virgin before pivoting towards directing emotionally driven projects including Five Feet Apart and Clouds.
Adam said Justin had been deeply invested in bringing Colleen Hoover’s novel to the screen because of its themes surrounding abusive relationships and accountability.
He added: “The reason he wanted to direct this piece, the reason why he wanted to be in it, to put his heart on it, was because he found the book to be significant.”
Adam continued: “He was going to usher forth her book to a whole new audience, turning it into a movie… he wanted these conversations… about domestic violence, the responsibility that men have to have this conversation, not just the victims, not just the women. And so that was his whole drive.”
Blake’s original complaint accused Justin of attempting to damage her public reputation through what was described as a coordinated smear campaign.
The actress later filed a formal lawsuit accusing Justin of sexual harassment, breach of contract, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress.
Justin denied the allegations and filed his own countersuit through Wayfarer Studios.
However, US District Court Judge Lewis J Liman formally dismissed the countersuit in October 2025 after Justin and his co-plaintiffs missed a deadline to file an amended complaint.
More recently, the court dismissed most of Blake’s claims, including her sexual harassment allegations against Justin, before both sides agreed to settle the dispute on May 4 in what sources described to Page Six as a “last-minute deal”.
