Blake Lively is celebrating the Justin Baldoni lawsuit settlement, calling it a “victory.” Lively and Baldoni reportedly settled their lawsuit on May 4 with zero payout. The lawsuit was settled two weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial on May 18. Later, the actress even made a stunning appearance at this year’s Met Gala.
Blake Lively’s team has this to say about Justin Baldoni lawsuit settlement
Blake Lively’s legal team hailed the lawsuit settlement as a “resounding victory” for the actress. Lively’s lawyers, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, shared a statement with Entertainment Weekly on May 7. They stated, “This settlement is a resounding victory for Blake Lively. By agreeing to this settlement, and waiving their right to appeal, Justin Baldoni and every individual defendant now face personal liability for abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate Ms. Lively.”
The statement continued, “By admitting that Ms. Lively’s concerns ‘deserved to be heard,’ the defendants have ended once and for all the fiction that Ms. Lively ‘fabricated’ claims of sexual harassment and retaliation.” They concluded, “From day one, Blake Lively’s mission was clear: expose and hold accountable those who weaponize smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors. That mission continues.”
The Gossip Girl star filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Baldoni, in December 2024. She also accused him of launching a smear campaign to malign her reputation. Baldoni denied the claims and launched a counter-lawsuit against Lively. However, Baldoni’s $400 million defamation suit was dismissed last year. Not only that, most of Lively’s earlier claims, including allegations of sexual harassment, were already dismissed last month.
Sources tied to Page Six previously revealed that the former co-stars had been negotiating for a few weeks and “were encouraged to reach an agreement.” The source dished, “They finally came to an agreement today. It was a last-minute deal.”
Originally reported by Anwaya Mane on Mandatory.
