Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s year-and-a-half long legal battle has come to an end weeks before they were scheduled to go to trial in New York City.
The “It Ends with Us” stars agreed to settle Lively’s breach of contract and retaliation lawsuit May 4, a spokesperson for defendant Wayfarer Studios, cofounded by Baldoni, confirmed to USA TODAY. Details of the settlement were unspecified.
“The end product – the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ – is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors – and all survivors – is a goal that we stand behind,” a joint statement by both parties’ attorneys read.
“We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard,” Bryan Freedman, Ellyn Garofalo, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson said. “We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”
The contentious case between Lively, 38, her director and costar Baldoni, 42, and his codefendants involved competing accounts of how their relationships broke down on the set of the 2024 Colleen Hoover book adaptation as well as allegations of intentional reputation damage and sexual harassment.
The high-profile dispute ensnared other celebrities in Lively and Baldoni’s orbit as the legal discovery process in their case exposed the stars’ private communications. Hundreds of exhibits, which were unsealed in January, included messages from Taylor Swift, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and costars Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer, among other figures.
The move comes a month after U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman on April 2 effectively dismissed the bulk of Lively’s legal claims – including sexual harassment, defamation and false light invasion of privacy – after Baldoni’s lawyers made a bid to avert a trial scheduled to begin May 18.
At the time, the defense’s lawyers, Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach, celebrated the move, saying, “What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.”
Liman’s order mostly granted – and in part denied – the defendants’ motion for summary judgment.
The sexual harassment legal claims were dismissed due to an issue of jurisdiction and employment. Liman wrote that though Lively sued under California law, the alleged misconduct took place as they filmed in New Jersey. He also noted that the facts “overwhelmingly point” to Lively being an independent contractor, rather than an employee, and could not sue on the grounds of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The judge allowed three of her 13 claims — including breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation, to proceed to trial. The remaining allegations pertained to It Ends With Us Movie LLC (breach of agreement and retaliation), Wayfarer Studios (retaliation) and the company Lively had accused of organizing an online campaign that cast Lively in a negative light, The Agency Group PR LLC (aiding in retaliation).
Baldoni’s codefendants included Wayfarer Studios, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, producer Jamey Heath, crisis public relations specialist Melissa Nathan and publicist Jennifer Abel.
After months of online speculation about a feud between the stars of the Colleen Hoover movie adaptation, The New York Times 2024 published a detailed report on Lively’s allegations in December . The article was headlined, “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.”
The piece came out at the same time that Lively filed a complaint in California alleging sexual harassment and retaliation by Baldoni and Heath, which was followed by a lawsuit filed in New York federal court.
Lively alleged Baldoni engaged in inappropriate conduct on- and off-set, writing in her suit that she and other “It Ends with Us” cast and crew members “experienced invasive unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior.”
In her suit, Lively claimed Baldoni “often referred to women in the workplace as ‘sexy,’” and “when they expressed discomfort, Mr. Baldoni would deflect or try to pass it off.” In one alleged incident, Baldoni told a female cast member her leather pants looked “sexy,” and when the comment was “rebuffed,” he told her, “I can say that because my wife is here today.”
She also alleged Baldoni and Heath “invaded [her] privacy” throughout filming “by entering her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including when she was breastfeeding her infant child.” In retaliation for her complaints about the alleged conduct, Lively says, the production company and PR agency coordinated an “astroturfing campaign” to discredit and “bury” her.
Baldoni and his codefendants have repeatedly denied the actress’ claims; Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios and their publicists sued The New York Times for libel on Dec. 31, 2024, but the action was later dismissed by the judge.
The parties formally responded to Lively’s legal complaint with a Jan. 16, 2025, countersuit. They accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane of extortion, defamation and false light invasion of privacy, among other allegations.
Lively “seize[d] control” of the film and “set out to destroy Plaintiffs’ livelihoods and businesses if they did not bend to her incessant demands, and when they refused to give way, she did exactly that, accusing them of foul and reprehensible sexual misconduct,” the lawsuit alleged. The complaint went on to claim that Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment by Baldoni were “falsified” and “used throughout the production of this film in order to take control.”
Wayfarer, Baldoni, Heath and their publicists “were the targets of a calculated and vitriolic smear campaign,” not Lively, they argued in their lawsuit.
The two lawsuits were ultimately consolidated with Lively’s federal suit into one case in New York federal court.
In October 2025, Liman entered a final judgment in Baldoni and his codefendants’ allegations, effectively terminating their case while keeping the door open to an appeal and a refiled complaint related to contract matters.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.spokesman.com ’
