Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settle lawsuit

It ends with a settlement.

After a year and a half of bitter feuding in court and in the press, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have resolved their legal differences two weeks ahead of a federal trial.

Lively had accused Baldoni, her director and co-star, of sexual harassment on set of their 2024 film, “It Ends With Us.” She also alleged that when she raised complaints about it, he and his army of publicists engaged in a digital smear campaign to retaliate.

In a carefully crafted joint statement released on Monday, the parties expressed their feelings about moving on.

“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. 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.”

The settlement comes about a month after Judge Lewis Liman threw out 10 of Lively’s 13 civil claims, including all claims for harassment. The ruling left three claims — retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract — to be decided by a jury.

At the time, Lively’s attorney said she looked forward to telling her story on the witness stand. But the attorney, Sigrid McCawley, also seemed to telegraph that a settlement was a real possibility, suggesting that Lively had already achieved her goals by exposing the “smear machine” at the heart of the case.

“For Blake Lively, the greatest measure of justice is that the people and the playbook behind these coordinated digital attacks have been exposed and are already being held accountable by other women they’ve targeted,” McCawley said at the time.

Lively herself also took to Instagram to claim a measure of victory at the time.

“The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I brought this case because of the pervasive RETALIATION I faced, and continue to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others,” she wrote. “I hope the Court’s decision shows others that, as unfathomably painful as it is, you can speak up.”

Lively began the legal war in December 2024, filing an administrative complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. At nearly the same time, the New York Times published a lengthy article exposing text messages from Baldoni’s publicists, in which they strategized about how to respond to Lively’s allegations, and bragged of being able to “bury” anyone.

Baldoni responded with a lengthy defamation lawsuit in federal court, alleging that Lively had in fact destroyed his reputation with false allegations of harassment in a cynical bid to hijack the film. He also sued the New York Times. Lively then countersued, accusing Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and others of harassment, retaliation and other claims.

Baldoni’s defamation suit was thrown out in the early stages, as the judge ruled that Lively and the Times were both protected by privileges covering litigation and reporting on litigation. After more than a year of extensive discovery and bitter legal fighting, most of Lively’s claims were also thrown out — mostly on technical grounds instead of the merits. Lively was found to be an independent contractor, not an employee, meaning she could not sue for harassment under federal law. And since the filming took place in New Jersey, she could not file suit under California’s harassment statute.

- Variety