New York (AFP) – Actor Blake Lively and “It Ends with Us” co-star Justin Baldoni on Monday settled their acrimonious years-long legal battle, avoiding a costly civil trial. A joint statement provided to AFP said the parties had resolved their dispute — launched after Lively accused Baldoni of inappropriate on-set behavior — without disclosing any settlement figure.
Lively’s initial complaint had said Baldoni — who also directed the film — had spoken inappropriately about his sex life and sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script and had not been agreed to. It also said producer Jamey Heath had watched Lively while she was topless, despite having been asked to turn away. It further claimed Baldoni waged a PR campaign to wreck Lively’s reputation.
“The end product — the movie ‘It Ends with Us’ — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life,” Baldoni and Lively’s attorneys said in a joint statement. “We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace.”
Hours after the announcement that the case was settled, Lively was all smiles as she unexpectedly appeared at the Met Gala in New York in a full ball gown that erupted in a cloud of pink, purple, and yellow tulle.
Baldoni and the studio Wayfarer had previously countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds with claims of extortion and defamation — but a judge dismissed those claims last year. Wayfarer previously insisted that neither the studio, its executives, nor its PR team did anything to retaliate against Lively.
A judge dismissed some of Lively’s claims, but upheld her allegations of retaliation, which would have proceeded to trial on May 18. Based on a best-selling novel by the US writer Colleen Hoover, “It Ends with Us” made more than $350 million at the box office in 2024, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.
© 2024 AFP
