Just two weeks before their scheduled trial date, actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have settled their nearly two-year legal dispute that began after the 2024 movie It Ends With Us.
On Monday, lawyers for Lively and Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni's production company, released a joint statement saying that It Ends With Us, their film depicting an abusive relationship, "is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life." The film, which grossed more than $350 million worldwide, was adapted from a popular Colleen Hoover novel from 2016.
The statement continues: "Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind.
We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard.
We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.
It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online."
In April, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman tossed out Lively's claims of sexual harassment against Baldoni, her co-star and It Ends With Us director. In court documents, Lively had detailed a number of moments on set that she alleged amounted to a "hostile work environment." These included an instance when Baldoni shared with crew members that Lively had never seen pornography, after he told her he had a pornography addiction. She also cited unwanted, improvised physical contact during filming and comments about her appearance; she described Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath entering her trailer while she was undressed.
Baldoni denied Lively's allegations of sexual harassment. He countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds; that was later dismissed.
But Lively had also claimed that, with help from public relations team The Agency Group, Wayfarer Studios and the film producers retaliated against her after she complained about inappropriate behavior on set. Those claims, which Baldoni and his team also denied, had been scheduled to go before a jury later this month alongside a claim of breach of contract. After Monday's settlement, those claims will no longer be heard in court.
Terms of the settlement were not made public.
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