Actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have settled their explosive legal feud over the production of their 2024 film “It Ends With Us” just days before a high-stakes New York trial.
The settlement shuts down a messy courtroom showdown that promised to leak Hollywood's darkest secrets, including Lively's claims that Baldoni conspired with publicists to pre-emptively destroy her reputation after she privately accused him of sexually harassing her on the movie set.
By settling now, both stars have narrowly avoided a PR nightmare that threatened to wreck their reputations further.
“Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors—is a goal that we stand behind," Lively and Baldoni said in a joint statement issued through their lawyers.
"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 terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Lively, 38, sued Baldoni, 42, and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, at the end of 2024. Weeks later, Baldoni sued Lively, accusing her, her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist of defamation and extortion.
Baldoni, who directed the dark romantic drama and starred in it with Lively, had denied harassing her or orchestrating a smear campaign. He claimed the complaints about his behaviour were made up by Lively as part of an effort to seize creative control of the movie.
Monday's settlement came after a federal judge in Manhattan tossed some of each actor’s claims.
Also read: Blake Lively's harassment claims against Justin Baldoni dismissed
Last June, Judge Lewis J Liman dismissed Baldoni's defamation and extortion lawsuit.
In April, he threw out Lively's sexual harassment claims, ruling that she couldn't pursue them under federal law because she was an independent contractor rather than an employee on the movie set.
In their joint statement, the parties said they recognise that Lively's concerns “deserved to be heard” and that they "remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments."
The trial, now no longer necessary, had been scheduled to begin with jury selection on May 18.
“It Ends With Us”, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling 2016 novel about a relationship devolving into domestic violence, was released in August 2024 and exceeded box office expectations despite criticism that it glorified abuse.
Lively and Baldoni's fractious falling out took attention away from the film, overshadowing its message and success.
“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,” Lively and Baldoni said in their statement.
Lively had claimed in her lawsuit that during filming, Baldoni made inappropriate comments about her appearance, violated physical boundaries while filming a love scene, and pushed for nudity—against Lively's wishes—during a scene in which her character was giving birth.
Baldoni denied doing anything outside the realm of the normal creative process of making a movie.
On the work front, Lively appeared in the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and the TV series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012 before starring in films including “The Town” and “The Shallows”.
Baldoni starred in the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed the 2019 film “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book challenging traditional notions of masculinity.
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