Justin Baldoni had a challenging year after the controversy that erupted following his successful 2024 film “It Ends With Us.” Baldoni directed and starred in the film.
Lively accused her costar of harassment and orchestrating a “smear campaign” to tarnish her reputation. Baldoni responded with a lawsuit of his own, in which he claimed Lively falsely framed innocent interactions as malicious, and invented the harassment story to save her own reputation after she received significant backlash on social media for the “tone-deaf” way she promoted the film, and several unflattering interview clips where she appeared rude to reporters went viral.
Amid the fight to clear his name and tell his truth, Baldoni has received support and love from several popular figures in showbiz. Among those are “Dancing With the Stars” judge and six-time winner Derek Hough, and his wife Hayley Erbert.
Derek & Hayley Hough Are Showing Justin Baldoni Support On Social Media
GettyDerek Hough and Hayley Erbert have liked some Instagram posts by and about Justin Baldoni since the “It Ends With Us” battle began. Both members of the famous dance duo “liked” Baldoni’s Mother’s Day Post he shared on May 11, 2025. He captioned the post “My mom gave us faith. My wife is the definition of it. Our children are growing up in the fortress of that love. Happy Mother’s Day to all.”
The next month, on June 27, Hayley “liked” the anniversary post Baldoni made for his wife, Emily. And later in January 2026, Derek “liked” a post by one of Baldoni’s friends wishing him a happy birthday.
Baldoni, who has left his Instagram account open to comments while both Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds have chosen to restrict theirs, has received an outpouring of love and support on his page.
One person commented on his anniversary post, “We support you!! I hope this experience doesn’t traumatize you from doing any more projects in the future!! You deserve everything good to you and your family!”
Another chimed in, “I don’t normally follow celebs but here I am. I’m incredibly angry for you & your family . I hope you can get some semblance of justice for the last few years of your life.”
‘It Ends With Us’ Actress Isabela Ferrer Praised Baldoni In ‘Thank You’ Letter Before Criticizing Him In Deposition
GettyThe Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni trial is scheduled for May 2026, and one of the latest developments has been the release of Isabela Ferrer’s deposition. Ferrer, 25, played the young version of Blake’s character, Lily Bloom, in the film.
The movie involves a love triangle between Lily, Baldoni’s character Ryle, and Brandon Sklenar’s character, Atlas. Ferrer’s role largely revolved around her character falling in love with Atlas during romantic flashback scenes of the pair’s high school days.
After filming wrapped, Baldoni’s court filings say Ferrer sent him a text message that read, “Just got my film developed from when we were shooting so here’s this sweet pic! I also have to say thank you SO much for an incredible experience on my first film. I still can’t shake the feeling of it all because it truly was life changing for me.”
The alleged message continued, “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. I couldn’t have asked for a more welcoming environment. It will stay with me for the rest of my life!!! See you soon, whether in the fall or later, & hope you’re doing well.”
By the time of her deposition, which took place in September 2025, Ferrer had apparently changed her mind about Baldoni. Court documents reveal she found it inappropriate when Baldoni told her and her 25-year-old costar Alex Neustaedter that their performance in a love scene they’d just finished shooting was “hot.” She also said she was offended by a directorial idea from Baldoni that her character should lick a cookie dough spoon while staring flirtatiously at her boyfriend, Atlas. Several fans pointed out that Baldoni’s suggestion mirrored a scene from the novel on which the film is based.
