Blake Lively has jokingly offered her flower-arranging skills to her fans amid the star’s much-publicised legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
The Gossip Girl actor, 37, is currently in an ongoing dispute with Baldoni, who starred alongside her and directed the 2024 drama It Ends With Us where she plays a florist, Lily Bloom, who winds up in an abusive relationship with a neurosurgeon.
Lively, who practises floral arranging as a hobby, shared several images on her Instagram Stories of her latest efforts. Posting a picture of some peonies and Russian sage, the actor wrote: “My flower babies, from seeds, to cutting, to arrangement. @ me for your graduation, funeral or wedding.”
She followed the post with a picture of herself with the flowers while paying a heartfelt tribute to her mother.
Lively wrote: “Grateful to my mama for always doing creative things with me. Even when she was working nonstop and had zero time. She always told me I ‘couldn’t mess it up’, when I very much could.”
She added: “What a lifelong gift that creative empowerment and trust has been. Most of my passions come from, or [are] thanks to her.”
In July 2024, Lively revealed on Instagram: “I’ve always thought I was a florist, well before playing one. I buy corner store flowers, take them home, reassemble them and give them new life.
“Ever since I moved to the city at 19, that’s been one of my creative and meditative anchors. It’s design, it’s interacting with nature, it’s a multi-sensory joy. Whenever I get the opportunity to garden from scratch and assemble fresh arrangements, I feel like the luckiest person on the planet. It’s straight-up peace.”
Her latest posts come just days after her legal team reportedly withdrew her claims that Baldoni intentionally and negligently inflicted emotional distress on her during the production of the film.
The decision is thought to be a response to attempts by Baldoni’s legal team to obtain Lively’s medical records, including therapy notes and other health details, as part of the discovery process.
Baldoni and Lively are involved in several legal actions related to her claim that she was sexually harassed by the director during the production of It Ends With Us, and his claim that she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, attempted to destroy his career.
On Monday (2 June), Baldoni’s legal team, acting on behalf of his company Wayfarer Studios, filed a ruling seeking to compel Lively to sign a HIPAA release that would allow them access to her medical records.
The filing states: “Instead of complying with the Medical RFPs, Ms Lively’s counsel recently advised us, in writing, that Ms Lively is withdrawing her [infliction of emotional distress] Claims.
“However, Ms Lively has refused the Wayfarer Parties’ reasonable request that the withdrawal of such claims be with prejudice. She is only willing to withdraw her claims without prejudice.
“However, Ms Lively has refused the Wayfarer Parties’ reasonable request that the withdrawal of such claims be with prejudice. She is only willing to withdraw her claims without prejudice.
“In other words, Ms Lively wants to simultaneously: (a) refuse to disclose the information and documents needed to disprove that she suffered any emotional distress and/or that the Wayfarer Parties were the cause; and (b) maintain the right to re-file her IED Claims at an unknown time in this or some other court after the discovery window has closed.”
Variety reports that Lively’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb described the filing as “a press stunt” and argued that they are simply “streamlining and focusing” her case.
“The Baldoni-Wayfarer strategy of filing retaliatory claims has exposed them to expansive new damages claims under California law, rendering certain of Ms Lively’s original claims no longer necessary,” said Hudson and Gottlieb.
“Ms Lively continues to allege emotional distress, as part of numerous other claims in her lawsuit, such as sexual harassment and retaliation, and massive additional compensatory damages on all of her claims.”
The Independent approached Baldoni’s legal team, who declined to comment on the record.
