Three days after the public announcement of a settlement in her lawsuit over the film “It Ends With Us,” Blake Lively’s legal team sought to frame the resolution as a decisive win, while Justin Baldoni’s camp insisted the outcome was a victory for him. The conflicting characterizations, laid out in new court filings and statements Thursday, underscored how the acrimony between the two actors may persist beyond the formal end of litigation.
Lively’s attorneys, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said in a statement that the settlement represents a “resounding victory” because Baldoni and every individual defendant waived their right to appeal and now face personal liability for “abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate Ms. Lively.” They were referring to potential sanctions a judge could impose for the tens of millions of dollars in legal fees Lively incurred defending against Baldoni’s countersuit — a defamation and extortion claim that U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed last June.
In newly filed legal papers, Lively’s lawyers argued that “severe and mandatory penalties” apply against parties who file unsuccessful retaliatory defamation actions against sexual harassment and retaliation complainants. They also noted that a joint statement issued Monday, in which both sides acknowledged Lively’s concerns “deserved to be heard,” effectively ended “once and for all the fiction that Ms. Lively ‘fabricated’ claims of sexual harassment and retaliation.”
Her mission, the attorneys added, was always to “expose and hold accountable those who weaponize smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors.” That mission, they said, “continues.”
Bryan Freedman, representing Baldoni, rejected that narrative. He said the court had already thrown out 10 of Lively’s 13 claims and that she later “voluntarily dismissed the rest.” In his view, the settlement was a concession by Lively’s side. “In our view, they settled because they knew they were going to lose in court,” Freedman said. He described the remaining matter as “a pending request for fees based on a very narrow issue that has been with the court since September 2025.”
The case traces back to December 2024, when Lively sued Baldoni and his production company, alleging that she and other women on the set of “It Ends With Us” were subjected to sexual harassment — including comments about their bodies and discussions of personal sexual experiences and pornography. Judge Liman recently threw out the sexual harassment claims after concluding that Lively, as an independent contractor rather than an employee, could not assert them. He left intact some retaliation claims, which were set for trial before Monday’s settlement.
The settlement’s terms were not disclosed. The agreement was formally entered into the court record Thursday, officially concluding the litigation.
“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, begins as a romance but takes a dark turn into domestic violence. The film exceeded box office expectations with a $50 million debut, but its release was overshadowed by speculation about discord between Lively and Baldoni. Lively’s earlier credits include “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “Gossip Girl” and “The Shallows.” Baldoni starred in “Jane the Virgin,” directed “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book challenging traditional notions of masculinity.