One of Hollywood's most closely watched legal disputes ended not with a verdict, but with a settlement reached just weeks before the two sides were set to face a jury.
The dispute centered on "It Ends With Us" (2024), the film Blake Lively starred in and Justin Baldoni directed. Lively alleged that Baldoni made inappropriate comments about her appearance and weight during production, and further claimed that Baldoni and his publicists ran a coordinated campaign to damage her reputation after she raised safety concerns on set. Baldoni countersued in January 2025 for $400 million, alleging defamation and extortion; a judge dismissed his countersuit in June 2025, and dismissed most of Lively's remaining claims in late March 2026.
With three claims still headed toward a trial that was scheduled to begin jury selection on May 18, both sides announced a settlement on May 4, 2026 instead. The specific financial or legal terms of the agreement were not disclosed publicly.
In a joint statement, Lively and Baldoni said: "It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace." The statement also emphasized that both parties remained proud of the film itself, and committed to workplaces "free of improprieties," while acknowledging that "concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard."
The case had become a flashpoint for broader conversations about on-set conduct and reputation management in Hollywood, drawing far more public attention than a typical film-production dispute. With the settlement reached and no trial now scheduled, the full account of what happened on that set may remain, officially, a matter of two differing legal filings rather than a jury's verdict.