Key Points
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, her costar and director in the 2024 movie It Ends With Us, were locked in a legal battle since December 2024.
The parties announced May 4, just before trial of the case, that they had come to an agreement to end the legal battle.
Lively’s legal team calls the settlement a “resounding victory” for the actress.
Blake Lively has spoken out following her settlement with Justin Baldoni.
Lively’s lawyers, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, shared a statement on Thursday, May 7 with Entertainment Weekly, calling the settlement on May 4 a “victory” for the actress.
“This settlement is a resounding victory for Blake Lively,” they wrote. “By agreeing to this settlement, and waiving their right to appeal, Justin Baldoni and every individual defendant now face personal liability for abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate Ms. Lively.”
“And by admitting that Ms. Lively’s concerns ‘deserved to be heard,’ the defendants have ended once and for all the fiction that Ms. Lively ‘fabricated’ claims of sexual harassment and retaliation,” the statement continued. “From day one, Blake Lively’s mission was clear: expose and hold accountable those who weaponize smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors. That mission continues.”
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The Gossip Girl alum and her costar and director in the 2024 drama It Ends With Us, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel, had been locked in a legal battle since December 2024, after she alleged that he had sexually harassed and then waged a smear campaign against her. He denied the accusations against him.
Lively had initially accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy, although those claims had been dismissed by a judge in April, according to documents obtained by EW.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni star in ‘It Ends With Us’
Credit: Sony
The claims that had not been dismissed by the court included breach of contract, retaliation in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and aiding and abetting in retaliation in violation of FEHA.
Baldoni filed a countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, in January 2025 that alleged the couple and their PR firm had defamed him and Wayfarer Studios. A judge threw out that case in June.
They came to a settlement on May 4 ahead of a trial that had been scheduled to begin the same month, both Lively and Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios announced in a joint statement from their legal teams.
“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,” the statement read. “Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors – and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind.”
The statement continued, “We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. 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.”
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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