Three days after Lively’s team announced a settlement in her lawsuit tied to the 2024 film “It Ends With Us,” her lawyers sought to frame the outcome as vindication in a dispute that had already turned into a public legal feud. In a statement made public Thursday, attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson described the deal as a “resounding victory,” arguing that the settlement agreement and waiver of the right to appeal carry legal consequences for Justin Baldoni and other defendants.
Lively’s lawyers said the agreement leaves the defendants facing “personal liability” for allegedly “abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate Ms. Lively,” in a passage that also referenced countersuit litigation that they said was dismissed. They were referring to Baldoni’s countersuit, which a federal judge threw out last June, according to the filing described in the newly filed court papers. Lively’s attorneys also argued that the law requires “severe and mandatory penalties” against parties who file unsuccessful retaliatory defamation actions against sexual harassment and retaliation complainants.
Her lawyers added that a statement released by both sides on Monday—Lively’s attorneys said it recognized her concerns “deserved to be heard”—ended what they called the “fiction” that Lively “fabricated” claims of sexual harassment and retaliation. In the same argument, they said their “aim was always to ‘expose and hold accountable those who weaponize smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors,’” and that the “mission continues.”
Baldoni’s side responded with a contrasting characterization. Attorney Bryan Freedman, appearing as counsel in the dispute, said the Baldoni camp considers the settlement “a win and total victory.” Freedman said the court already threw out 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, and that Lively “voluntarily dismissed the rest,” arguing that the only remaining issue is a pending request for attorney’s fees connected to a narrow matter that has been before the court since September 2025.
Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and his production company, filed in December 2024, alleged that she and other women were subjected to sexual harassment on the movie set when Baldoni commented on their bodies and discussed personal sexual experiences and pornography. The sexual harassment claims were later dismissed by Liman, who concluded that Lively could not pursue those claims because she was an independent contractor rather than an employee during the filming.
The judge, however, left some retaliation claims intact for a trial, setting up the remaining litigation that the settlement later resolved. Lively’s lawyers said the settlement was entered into the court record Thursday, but the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The “It Ends With Us” story is adapted from Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel that begins as a romance but shifts into domestic violence. The movie exceeded box-office expectations with a $50 million debut, while the broader project drew speculation about a discord between Lively and Baldoni that followed them into court.
Lively previously appeared in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and in the television series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012, before starring in films including “The Town” and “The Shallows.” Baldoni, meanwhile, starred in the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed “Five Feet Apart,” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book challenging traditional notions of masculinity.