Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni Lawsuit: Claims, Ruling, Settlement

The Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni lawsuit began on December 31, 2024, when Lively sued her It Ends with Us co-star and director in federal court in New York, alleging sexual harassment during filming and a coordinated public relations campaign to destroy her reputation after she complained. Roughly seventeen months later, on May 4, 2026, the two sides settled two weeks before trial. A federal judge had already dismissed most of Lively’s claims, including all of her harassment counts, and thrown out Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit. Lively received no direct payment in the settlement but was later awarded her attorney fees.¹

What Lively Alleged Happened on Set

Filming of It Ends with Us began in May 2023 in New Jersey. Lively’s complaint accused Baldoni of improvising physical contact during intimate scenes without her consent or an intimacy coordinator present, including kissing and biting her lip on takes that had not been rehearsed.² She said Baldoni asked her trainer to disclose her weight without her knowledge, commented on her age and appearance, and added graphic material to the script without her agreement.³

Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath was named as a defendant as well. Lively alleged that Heath showed her a nude video of his wife giving birth while she was in her trailer, and that both men entered her trailer uninvited while she was undressed or breastfeeding. According to the complaint, Baldoni and Heath discussed their past pornography addictions and sexual experiences in front of cast and crew.²

In January 2024, before filming resumed after the Hollywood labor strikes, Lively convened an “all-hands” meeting with Baldoni, Heath, and her husband Ryan Reynolds. The participants agreed to conditions that included keeping an intimacy coordinator on set at all times, barring Baldoni and Heath from describing their own genitalia, and keeping associates of the producers off set during scenes requiring nudity. Those protections were formalized in a Contract Rider Agreement that Heath signed on behalf of the production company on or about January 19, 2024.⁴

The Alleged Smear Campaign

The heart of Lively’s case was not the on-set conduct itself but what she said happened after she raised it. Her complaint alleged that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios hired crisis communications professionals to run a “social manipulation” campaign against her, and cited thousands of pages of subpoenaed texts and emails.⁵

Crisis PR specialist Melissa Nathan and publicist Jennifer Abel were alleged to have built a “social combat plan” to plant misleading stories, seed negative content on Reddit and TikTok, and manufacture the appearance of grassroots backlash. In one message quoted in the complaint, a publicist wrote to Nathan that Baldoni “wants to feel like she can be buried.” Nathan allegedly replied, “You know we can bury anyone.”⁵

Lively also alleged that consultant Jed Wallace was hired at $30,000 per month to manipulate social media narratives, and that emails from an Agency Group employee outlined plans to “directly influence” online forums and “adjust the narrative in real time” without leaving “fingerprints.”⁶ Wayfarer co-founder Steve Sarowitz was alleged to have told a third party on the night of the film’s premiere that he was “prepared to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family.”⁷

Baldoni’s Denials and Failed Countersuits

Baldoni denied Lively’s allegations. His attorney Bryan Freedman called them “categorically false” and “intentionally salacious,” and argued that hiring a crisis firm was “standard operating procedure” rather than retaliation.⁸

He also went on offense. On the same day Lively sued, Baldoni filed a $250 million libel suit against the New York Times, alleging its coverage omitted context and included “doctored communications.” Judge Lewis Liman dismissed it in June 2025, and Baldoni did not amend.⁹ In January 2025 he filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively, Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy, claiming the two had conspired to “tar and feather” him.¹⁰

On June 9, 2025, Judge Liman dismissed the countersuit, ruling that Baldoni failed to show the defendants “would have seriously doubted these statements were true.”¹¹ The judge also found that an employee insisting on workplace protections against sexual harassment does not amount to extortion.¹² Baldoni chose not to amend, and final judgment closing the case was entered on October 31, 2025.¹⁰

How the Court Narrowed Lively’s Case

On April 2, 2026, Judge Liman issued a ruling that dismissed ten of Lively’s thirteen claims and left three for trial.¹³ All of the sexual harassment counts were dismissed. Because Lively was classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee, the court held she could not bring Title VII harassment claims.⁴ Her California harassment claims were thrown out because the alleged conduct occurred during filming in New Jersey and lacked a “substantial connection” to California.¹⁴ Defamation, conspiracy, and false light claims fell as well, and an alleged breach of the Actor’s Loanout Agreement was tossed because both parties had never signed it.

Three claims were kept alive for a jury:

Retaliation under California law against Wayfarer Studios and the production company It Ends With Us Movie LLC.
Aiding and abetting retaliation against The Agency Group PR LLC.
Breach of the Contract Rider Agreement against the production company.

Judge Liman wrote that while companies are generally entitled to hire PR firms to protect their reputations, “certain conduct at least arguably crossed the line.”¹⁴

The May 2026 Settlement

Trial was scheduled for May 18, 2026. On May 4, the parties settled. The agreement ended the litigation and barred future claims tied to the dispute. A joint statement said: “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.”¹⁵ Baldoni also acknowledged that Lively’s claims “deserved to be heard.”¹⁶

Lively received no direct financial compensation in the settlement itself.¹⁷ The agreement did, however, preserve her right to seek attorney fees and damages under California Civil Code Section 47.1, a 2024 law that shields people who report sexual misconduct from retaliatory defamation suits. Lively argued that Baldoni’s dismissed $400 million countersuit was exactly the kind of retaliation the statute was written to address.¹⁸

Attorney Fees Awarded, Damages Denied

On June 12, 2026, Judge Liman ruled that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios must pay Lively’s attorney fees, finding that she had made her sexual misconduct complaints “without malice.”¹⁹ He denied her request for treble and punitive damages, ruling that Section 47.1 “does not create an end run around the entire set of carefully crafted federal procedural rules.”²⁰

As of mid-June 2026, the specific fee amount had not been set. Lively’s legal team was ordered to submit billing records for the court’s approval. Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman estimated the litigation had cost Lively between $30 million and $60 million.¹⁶

1
Houston Public Media / NPR. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Settle Dispute Weeks Before Scheduled Trial
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Deadline. Blake Lively Complaint Filing
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BBC News. Blake Lively Accuses Justin Baldoni of Sexual Harassment
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U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y. Lively v. Wayfarer Studios, Opinion and Order
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New York Times. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni It Ends With Us
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Yahoo News. Blake Lively Team Cites Emails
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Forbes Australia. Meet the Little-Known Billionaire Caught Up in the Baldoni-Lively Scandal
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E! Online. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Judge Tosses Sexual Harassment Claim
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ABC News. Justin Baldoni’s Countersuit Against Blake Lively Ended by Judge
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Page Six. Justin Baldoni’s Countersuit Against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Officially Ended by Judge
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New York Post. Justin Baldoni’s Countersuit Against Blake Lively Ryan Reynolds Dismissed
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Deadline. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Countersuit Dismissed
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The Guardian. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Sexual Harassment Claims
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BBC News. Judge Dismisses Blake Lively’s Harassment Claims Against Justin Baldoni
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ABC News. Justin Baldoni Lawyer Publishes Settlement with Blake Lively
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Hollywood Reporter. It Ends With Us Settlement Blake Lively
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New York Times. Blake Lively Legal Fees Ruling Justin Baldoni Settlement
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Deadline. Blake Lively Settlement Details Justin Baldoni
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Courthouse News Service. Judge Awards Blake Lively Legal Fees in It Ends With Us Feud
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Los Angeles Times. Blake Lively Awarded Legal Fees From Justin Baldoni but Not Damages