NEW YORK — The public dispute between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni appears far from over, even after reaching a legal settlement this week.
Following Monday’s announcement that the parties had resolved Lively’s lawsuit concerning the 2024 movie ‘It Ends With Us,’ her legal representatives issued a statement Thursday declaring the agreement a ‘resounding victory.’
‘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,’ attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson said.
The lawyers referenced potential multimillion-dollar financial consequences that a federal judge could impose on defendants for legal expenses and sanctions related to Lively’s costs when Baldoni pursued a countersuit. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed that counteraction last June, which had accused Lively, her spouse Ryan Reynolds of ‘Deadpool’ fame, and their publicist of defamation and extortion.
In recent court documents, Lively’s legal team stated that federal law mandates ‘severe and mandatory penalties against any party who files unsuccessful retaliatory defamation actions against sexual harassment and retaliation complainants.’
The attorneys also noted that by acknowledging in Monday’s joint statement that Lively’s concerns ‘deserved to be heard,’ Baldoni and co-defendants ‘have ended once and for all the fiction that Ms. Lively ‘fabricated’ claims of sexual harassment and retaliation.’
Her goal was consistently to ‘expose and hold accountable those who weaponize smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors,’ the lawyers stated. ‘That mission continues.’
Baldoni’s legal representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment.
The original complaint filed by Lively in December 2024 against Baldoni and his production company claimed she and other women endured sexual harassment during filming when Baldoni made comments about their physical appearance and shared personal intimate experiences and pornographic content.
Judge Liman recently dismissed the harassment allegations but allowed certain retaliation claims to proceed toward trial. The court determined Lively could not pursue sexual harassment claims because she worked as an independent contractor rather than an employee during production.
Monday’s settlement resolution of the remaining allegations was officially recorded in court documents Thursday. Financial terms remain confidential.
‘It Ends With Us’ adapts Colleen Hoover’s popular 2016 novel that starts as a romantic story before addressing domestic violence themes. The film surpassed box office projections with a $50 million opening weekend, though its release was overshadowed by rumors of conflict between Lively and Baldoni.
Lively gained recognition in 2005’s ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ and starred in ‘Gossip Girl’ from 2007 to 2012 before appearing in movies like ‘The Town’ and ‘The Shallows.’
Baldoni appeared in the television comedy ‘Jane the Virgin,’ helmed the 2019 film ‘Five Feet Apart’ and authored ‘Man Enough,’ examining conventional masculinity concepts.
