Key Points
Justin Baldoni’s lawyer is sharing further details about the recent settlement with Blake Lively.
No money was reportedly exchanged between the parties.
Attorney Bryan Freedman said that Baldoni is “ecstatic” over the resolution.
Justin Baldoni is “very pleased” with the results of the settlement in the longstanding legal battle with his It Ends With Us leading lady Blake Lively.
On Monday, representatives for Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios and for Lively announced that they’d reached an agreement ahead of an impending trial. Reports have claimed that no money will be exchanged in the settlement, and Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman is now addressing those claims.
“I can’t talk about the terms, but what I can tell you is that he is ecstatic,” Freedman told Extra of Baldoni. “[He] is very pleased with where this ended up.”
Entertainment Weekly has also reached out to Lively’s legal team for comment.
Freedman has already declared a “huge victory” for Baldoni, who has been embroiled in this highly publicized saga for almost two years. Rumors of a feud between the It Ends With Us director-star and Lively, the film’s lead, swirled in the lead up to the summer 2024 release. Then, in December 2024, Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department alleging sexual harassment and his coordination of a smear campaign.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in ‘It Ends With Us’
Credit: Nicole Rivelli/Sony
In her complaint, Lively alleged that Baldoni engaged in “invasive, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” and claimed that he hired a crisis relations firm ahead of the movie’s premiere to facilitate a “sophisticated, coordinated, and well-financed retaliation plan” against her. Baldoni’s attorney described Lively’s allegations as “completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious.”
Lively would formally sue Baldoni in New York federal court on New Year’s Eve. He responded by filing a countersuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds in January 2025, demanding $400 million in damages and accusing them of defamation, civil extortion, breach of contract, and other offenses. Baldoni’s lawsuit was thrown out by a judge in June.
Baldoni and Lively were on course for a trial this month that would have focused on her claims of breach of contract, retaliation in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and aiding and abetting in retaliation in violation of FEHA. Judge Lewis Liman recently dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, including allegations of sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy against Baldoni.
Freedman argues that this settlement isn’t even between Baldoni and Lively, since his client was personally removed from the suit when the judge made the summary judgment that excluded the aforementioned accusations. (Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios remained in the suit.)
“By the time this settlement discussion even starts, Justin Baldoni is not a party, and that’s what gets forgotten,” the attorney said. “There was an urgency to try and get it done as quickly as possible. I think that Justin and the other individuals felt pretty comfortable where they were at the time.”
Freedman added, “You’re looking at this settlement as a win or a loss — I think he just looks at it as a logical ending to a case that he’s already out of.”
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly