Lively & Baldoni legal battle settled

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settle feud over It Ends With Us production, avoiding trial and reputational fallout in Hollywood

Actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have agreed to end their legal feud over the acrimonious production of their 2024 film It Ends With Us, averting a trial that threatened to further tarnish their reputations and expose the dark side of Hollywood moviemaking.

The co-stars turned courtroom adversaries settled the civil case on Monday, two weeks before they were to go to trial in New York on Lively’s claims that Baldoni conspired with publicists to preemptively destroy her reputation after she privately accused him of sexually harassing her on the movie set. “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.