Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle ends with a settlement. Two weeks before the It Ends with Us costars were set to go to trial in their years’ long legal battle-and hours before Lively graced the Met Gala 2026 steps-they reached a settlement deal.
“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’s lawyers-including Bryan Freedman, Ellyn Garofalo, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson-said in a joint statement to NBC News. “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 lawyers said they “acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Lively deserved to be heard.”
“We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments,” the statement noted. “It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment.”
E! News has reached out to reps for Baldoni and Lively but have not yet heard back.
The former costars had been set to face off in court on May 18, though their legal woes began in 2024, not long after the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book It Ends with Us debuted in theatres.
That December, the Gossip Girl alum filed a California Civil Rights Department complaint against her costar, alleging Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios associates “embarked on a sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation” for her voicing her concerns about purported misconduct on set, per the complaint obtained by E! News.
She filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, several of his associates and his company a little over a week later, accusing them of sexual harassment and retaliation as well as breach of contract and emotional distress among other allegations during and after filming their romantic drama.
After denying her allegations at the time, Baldoni and his associates filed their own lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds in January 2025, accusing them of defendants of civil extortion, defamation and false light invasion of privacy.
In the subsequent months, the pair battled it out through the courts, with Lively, at one point seeking a gag order against one of Baldoni’s attorneys.
Just a month before the case was set to go to trial, a New York judge dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 allegations against Baldoni and his associates, with the actress presenting her allegations of retaliation, breach of contract and aiding and abetting retaliation during the trial beginning May 18, according to an April 2 order obtained by E! News.
Although the judge dismissed her allegations of sexual harassment, he noted that regarding the claims of a smear campaign, there is “some direct evidence that the plan to destroy Lively and her career was put into action.”
“The parties fiercely dispute the extent to which the backlash against Lively was ‘organic’ or ‘artificial,'” the judge wrote, “and which steps the Wayfarer Parties may have taken to protect themselves. A jury can and should decide those questions.”