Justin Baldoni may have settled his explosive legal battle with Blake Lively, but according to his It Ends With Us costar Adam Mondschein, the emotional toll is far from over.
Speaking exclusively to Page Six, Mondschein described Baldoni as carrying “a big burden” in the aftermath of the high-profile case.
“It’s just like the weight and the emotional stress that this puts on him,” Mondschein said.
He added that Baldoni’s “heart is broken” and insisted the filmmaker “really cares” and has “integrity.”
The lawsuit, filed by Lively in December 2024, accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and fostering a toxic work environment on the set of It Ends With Us. Baldoni denied the allegations and countersued for $400 million, claiming defamation and extortion against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their PR team. After months of legal battle, most of Lively’s claims were dismissed including harassment allegations and the two sides reached a surprise settlement on May 4. Mondschein, who played Dr Dunbar in the film’s controversial delivery room scene, defended Baldoni’s intentions.
He said the director was motivated by the book’s themes of domestic violence and accountability.
“He wanted these conversations about the responsibility that men have to have this conversation, not just the victims, not just the women. And so that was his whole drive,” Mondschein explained. The settlement closed one of Hollywood’s most closely watched legal dramas, but Baldoni’s friend says the scars remain. “To maintain the knowledge that that’s not who you are, that’s exhausting,” Mondschein said.