NEW YORK, May 5 — 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 behaviour – 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 said 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 recognise 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 US$350 million (RM1.3 billion) at the box office in 2024, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. — AFP

 

 

Actor Blake Lively and "It Ends with Us" co-star Justin Baldoni settled on Monday their acrimonious court battle, sparked when Lively accused Baldoni of inappropriate on-set behaviour, meaning they will avoid a costly civil trial. Read More

It ends with a settlement. After a year and a half of bitter feuding in court and in the press, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have resolved their legal differences two weeks ahead of a federal trial. Lively had accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on set of their 2024 film, “It Ends With Us.” She […]