Blake Lively Reacts To The Hollywood Reporter's Cover Image, "They Should Be Ashamed Of Themselves"

As the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni keeps getting dragged on with new complaints, witnesses, and claims, more and more people and organisations are creating pieces expressing their opinions and concerns regarding the battle. One such outlet, The Hollywood Reporter, recently uploaded a cover art for an article they wrote about the Lively-Baldoni legal battle, which they also shared on their Instagram page.

The illustration, created by The Sporting Press, features a sand-covered wasteland with the Hollywood sign in the background. Blake Lively is seen holding a slingshot, aiming a cellphone at Justin Baldoni, who appears to be running away while holding the book titled 'It Ends With Us', which inspired the movie that the two played the lead roles for together and which sparked the entire legal battle in the first place.

Blake Lively did not appreciate the design of the cover story, though, as a representative of hers told Daily Mail that, "The Hollywood Reporter should be ashamed of itself. The framing in this picture is outrageously insulting as it plays into every sexist trope about women who dare file a workplace complaint, turning them into the aggressor, and suggesting they deserve the retaliation that comes their way. In addition, the story is extremely offensive as it incredibly seems to explain away documented examples of sexual harassment and retaliation by calling them 'cultural misunderstandings'."

This new development has come after Lively recently amended her complaint against Justin Baldoni, adding that several co-stars and female coworkers had allegedly also been very uncomfortable with his on-set behaviour. Prior to this, Justin Baldoni had filed a $400 million dollar lawsuit against Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and publicity team, with Baldoni suing them for defamation, civil extortion, and invasion of privacy. This lawsuit was filed against Lively after she filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing the director of sexual harassment on the set of 'It Ends With Us' as well as creating and managing a smear campaign against the actress in order to protect his own image. Both sides claim innocence and their trial will be held in March, 2026.