Blake Lively Finally Speaks Out — and Calls the Justin Baldoni Settlement a Win

Blake Lively has broken her silence after settling her long-running legal dispute with It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, as her attorneys tout the agreement as a major victory.

Well, here’s the kind of courtroom drama you don’t often see spill over from movies into real life. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni – co-stars on the not-exactly-lighthearted adaptation of It Ends With Us – just finished a sprawling legal battle that felt longer than your average awards season. Now, with a settlement finally hammered out, everyone’s trying to claim a moral victory, but Lively’s team is definitely the loudest about it.

What Exactly Happened?

Quick backstory: Starting in late 2024, Lively and Baldoni (who also directed It Ends With Us) were prepping what should have just been another movie. Instead, things went thoroughly south. Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, then alleged he doubled down by running a retaliatory smear campaign against her during production. Put simply: she said not only did Baldoni cross the line but also tried to bury her credibility in the process.

This wasn’t just a he-said-she-said. Lively formally sued, adding charges of defamation, conspiracy, and more. Some of her claims were tossed by the judge (sexually charged lawsuits are rarely simple: several allegations didn’t stick), but breach of contract and other significant claims were still in play all the way up to the finish line.

The Settlement

Both sides looked headed for a high-profile trial – but, just days before it was set to start, a settlement was announced on May 4, 2026. On May 7, Lively’s legal team (Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson) went public with a victory lap:

'This settlement is a resounding victory for Blake Lively. 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. ... By admitting that Ms. Lively’s concerns "deserved to be heard," the defendants have ended once and for all the fiction that Ms. Lively "fabricated" claims of sexual harassment and retaliation. From day one, Blake Lively’s mission was clear: expose and hold accountable those who weaponize smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors. That mission continues.'

There’s a lot to unpack there. Lively’s team is basically framing the whole thing as not just a legal win, but a meaningful shot across the bow at the idea that anyone can use the system to silence alleged victims. Baldoni and the others avoided the trial – but, according to the statement, might still be on the hook personally, at least on paper.

Baldoni and Studio's Take

In classic Hollywood PR fashion, Lively and Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios struck a joint (read: sanitized) note of unity, saying they’re collectively proud of It Ends With Us and that they hope the film will actually help raise awareness for survivors of domestic violence – which, in a roundabout way, hints at trying to move forward and not dwell on the uglier behind-the-scenes mess.

The Takeaway (and The Messy Details)

• Lively and Baldoni clashed during and after filming, with accusations flying all over the place – from harassment to defamation to breach of contract.
• Not all Lively’s allegations survived in court, but the breach of contract and some serious gripes did.
• They settled just before trial, with Lively’s side claiming a clear win and Baldoni’s camp keeping the post-settlement PR polite but vague.
• The film itself – intended as a drama about domestic abuse – now carries an extra layer of real-world drama few could have predicted.

If you’re keeping score at home, this is one of those classic cases where the legal dust might settle, but the industry’s going to be whispering about what really happened for a long time. Any lesson here? Working on a drama about abuse probably shouldn’t become an abuse drama behind the scenes – but Hollywood keeps finding new ways to surprise us.