Hollywood is a weird place. One day you’re the internet’s favorite "cool girl" who bakes cookies and makes hilarious jokes with her A-list husband, and the next, you’re the villain of a viral press tour. That’s basically the whirlwind Blake Lively has lived through over the last year.
Honestly, it's been a lot.
The question of whether Blake Lively difficult to work with became the internet's favorite obsession during the release of It Ends With Us. What started as a few weird TikToks about her "mean girl" energy turned into a full-blown legal war. We aren't just talking about a little bit of set tension anymore. We're talking about $400 million countersuits and unsealed text messages that make a high school drama look like a tea party.
The Chaos on the Set of It Ends With Us
Most of the noise centers on her relationship with Justin Baldoni. He didn't just act in the movie; he directed it. But if you believe the reports coming out of the courtroom, there were two captains on that ship. And they were heading for a collision.
Insiders claim the vibe was toxic from the jump. On one side, you have Baldoni, who reportedly felt like he was losing control of his own project. On the other, you have Lively, who allegedly felt "uncomfortable" and "fat-shamed" after giving birth. There’s a specific story about Baldoni asking a trainer how much she weighed before a lifting scene. He says he was protecting his back; she felt it was a dig at her body.
It got messy. Fast.
Lively reportedly brought in her own editor, Shane Reid, to cut a different version of the movie. Imagine being the director and finding out your lead actress is making her own edit of your film in the basement. It’s wild. Rumor has it her husband, Ryan Reynolds, even wrote scenes for the movie that Baldoni didn’t ask for. When you’re "Deadpool," I guess you just do what you want?
Why People Think She’s "Controlling"
The "difficult" label doesn't just come from one movie, though. Since the It Ends With Us fallout, a bunch of old stories have bubbled back up to the surface. People are looking at her time on Gossip Girl with fresh eyes.
- The Leighton Meester "Feud": It’s no secret they weren't besties. Producers confirmed they were professional but "not friends."
- Background Actor Stories: A former extra recently went viral on TikTok calling her "unpleasant" and "horrendous" to work with, claiming she had a "false moral superiority complex."
- The Press Tour Blunder: During the movie's promo, Blake was criticized for being too "bubbly" about a movie that deals with domestic violence. She was telling people to "wear their florals" while the movie was about surviving abuse. It felt tone-deaf to a lot of people.
There’s this growing narrative that she’s a "backseat director." Studios are reportedly getting nervous. They see the $400 million lawsuit filed by Baldoni’s team—accusing Lively and Reynolds of "extortion" and "defamation"—and they wonder if the talent is worth the headache.
The Other Side: Is She Just a Boss?
Here is the thing. If a man took over a movie to ensure it was "better," we’d probably call him a visionary. When a woman does it, the "difficult" label starts flying around.
Lively’s legal team has fired back with some pretty heavy accusations of their own. Her December 2024 lawsuit against Baldoni alleges "sexual harassment" and a "hostile work environment." She claims he would enter her trailer uninvited while she was breastfeeding and made inappropriate comments about her body.
If that’s true, her being "difficult" might actually just be her standing up for herself.
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The industry is split. Some insiders say she’s "done" in Hollywood because she’s too much of a liability. Others think this is just a power struggle between two big egos that happened to go public.
What This Means for Her Career
Right now, the legal battle is the main event. A trial date is set for May 18, 2026. Until then, every unsealed text and leaked email is going to be picked apart by the internet.
The reality is probably somewhere in the middle. Is she a perfectionist who uses her massive industry clout to get what she wants? Probably. Is she the "monster" some TikTok commenters make her out to be? That feels like a reach.
What you can do next:
If you're following this drama, keep a close eye on the court dockets as May 2026 approaches. Most of the "difficult to work with" talk is currently based on anonymous sources and litigation filings, which are designed to make the other side look bad. To get the full picture, look for the actual evidence presented in court—like the unsealed text messages—rather than just the catchy headlines. It’s the only way to separate the PR spin from the actual truth of what happened on that set.