Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni ended on May 4, 2026, when the parties settled the three claims still standing after Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed ten of her thirteen causes of action a month earlier. Lively received no money in the settlement, but a June 2026 ruling ordered Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, to pay her legal fees for defeating his separate $400 million countersuit. Baldoni’s own lawsuits against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times had already been thrown out in June 2025.
How the Dispute Began on Set
Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Studios cast Lively as Lily Bloom in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel It Ends With Us. Principal photography started in New Jersey in May 2023 and paused a month later for the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.1U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Lively v. Wayfarer Studios LLC, No. 24-CV-10049, Opinion and Order
Lively alleged that during the initial shoot Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath engaged in inappropriate conduct: sexualized comments about her appearance, discussion of Baldoni’s pornography addiction, improvised physical intimacy without an intimacy coordinator’s approval, and graphic script additions made without her consent.2Newsweek. Blake Lively Amended Complaint She also alleged Heath walked into her makeup trailer while she was undressed and showed her a graphic video of his wife giving birth without warning.3People. Who Is Jamey Heath, It Ends With Us Producer in Blake Lively Complaint
In November 2023, Lively’s attorney sent Wayfarer seventeen “Protections for Return to Production” as conditions for resuming work. They covered intimacy coordinators, signed nudity riders before intimate scenes, and a bar on retaliation for raising concerns. Wayfarer’s vice president of legal affairs called the demands “not only reasonable but also essential,” and the terms were signed into a Contract Rider Agreement on January 19, 2024. Filming resumed and wrapped on February 9, 2024.1U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Lively v. Wayfarer Studios LLC, No. 24-CV-10049, Opinion and Order That rider became central to what survived at the end of the case.
The Alleged Smear Campaign
After the film’s August 2024 release, according to Lively’s filings, Baldoni’s team executed a coordinated effort to damage her reputation. Subpoenaed text messages and emails between crisis publicist Melissa Nathan, publicist Jennifer Abel, and Wayfarer executives included one exchange in which a publicist wrote to Nathan, “He wants to feel like she can be buried.” Abel messaged Nathan, “I think we need to put the social combat plan into motion,” and later described the effort as “a total success.”4The New York Times. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni It Ends With Us
Unsealed records also showed that social media consultant Jed Wallace was hired at $30,000 per month for three months, with Nathan describing his services as “mostly untraceable.” An employee at Nathan’s firm outlined plans to work Reddit, X, and TikTok to “expose behavior of Blake” and take down accounts “without fingerprints.”5Page Six. Bombshell Smear Campaign Texts and Emails in Justin Baldoni Blake Lively Legal Drama Unsealed by Judge Lively’s team alleged participants used the Signal app with auto-deleting messages and sought an adverse inference from the court over destroyed evidence.6Deadline. Lively Baldoni Signal Campaign Messages Deleted Lawsuit
Baldoni denied orchestrating any campaign. His attorney Bryan Freedman said Lively herself had run a campaign to seize creative control and scapegoat Baldoni for backlash over the film’s marketing.
What Lively Sued For
On December 20, 2024, Lively filed an administrative complaint with the California Civil Rights Department alleging a hostile work environment. Eleven days later she filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York (Case No. 1:24-cv-10049) against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Wayfarer co-founder Steve Sarowitz, Nathan, Abel, and others.2Newsweek. Blake Lively Amended Complaint The complaint raised thirteen causes of action, including Title VII sexual harassment, retaliation under California law, defamation, conspiracy, and breach of the Contract Rider Agreement.
The complaint alleged that Sarowitz told someone he was “prepared to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family” and warned “there will be two dead bodies when I’m done.”7The Hollywood Reporter. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Feud Amended Lawsuit Actresses Testify Sarowitz called the claims “vicious lies.”8Forbes Australia. Meet the Little-Known Billionaire Caught Up in the Baldoni Lively Scandal
Baldoni’s Countersuits Were Thrown Out
On January 16, 2025, Baldoni and Wayfarer filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane for extortion and defamation. Baldoni also sued The New York Times for $250 million over its reporting.9ABC News. Justin Baldoni Sues Blake Lively Ryan Reynolds Lawsuit
Judge Liman dismissed both suits on June 9, 2025. He held that Baldoni was a public figure who had not shown “actual malice” under the standard from New York Times v. Sullivan. The Times was separately protected by the fair report privilege for accurately covering official proceedings, and communications in Lively’s California Civil Rights Department complaint were shielded by litigation privilege.10First Amendment Encyclopedia, MTSU. Wayfarer Studios, Justin Baldoni v. Blake Lively, The New York Times The dismissal became final on October 31, 2025, after Baldoni’s lawyers missed the deadline to file an amended complaint.11Rolling Stone. Justin Baldoni Blake Lively Lawsuit Missed Deadline
Why the Judge Dismissed Most of Lively’s Case
On April 2, 2026, Judge Liman issued a 152-page opinion dismissing ten of Lively’s thirteen claims and all claims against Baldoni, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, and Abel as individuals.12ABC News. Judge Guts Blake Lively’s Lawsuit Justin Baldoni
Sexual Harassment
The judge held that Lively was an independent contractor rather than an employee, which disqualified her from suing under Title VII.13The New York Times. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Harassment Claims Dismissed On the substance, he found the physical conduct Lively described took place while Baldoni was “acting in the scene,” and even if improvised was not “so far beyond what might reasonably be expected to take place between two characters during a slow dancing scene such that an inference of hostile treatment on the basis of sex would arise.” Creative artists, the judge reasoned, “must have some amount of space to experiment within the bounds of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment.”14CBS News. Blake Lively Sexual Harassment Claims Justin Baldoni
Defamation
The defamation claims failed because the statements Freedman made to the media tracked positions already argued in court filings. Judge Liman found they did not suggest “conduct more serious than suggested in the Wayfarer Parties’ in-court responses to Lively’s allegations,” and were therefore protected.15Courthouse News Service. Judge Tosses Blake Lively’s Sexual Harassment, Defamation Claims Against Justin Baldoni
The Three Claims That Survived and Settled
Three causes of action headed toward the May 18, 2026, jury trial:
- Retaliation under California law against It Ends With Us Movie LLC and Wayfarer Studios, based on the alleged smear campaign launched after Lively raised her on-set complaints.
- Aiding and abetting retaliation against The Agency Group PR LLC, Melissa Nathan’s firm.
- Breach of the Contract Rider Agreement against It Ends With Us Movie LLC, for allegedly violating the anti-retaliation term Lively had required as a condition of returning to set.1U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Lively v. Wayfarer Studios LLC, No. 24-CV-10049, Opinion and Order
On the contract claim, the judge rejected Wayfarer’s argument that the rider lacked consideration. Because Lively’s obligation to return to set was “genuinely uncertain,” her decision to come back was adequate consideration, and the rider was binding on its own.1U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Lively v. Wayfarer Studios LLC, No. 24-CV-10049, Opinion and Order
On May 4, 2026, two weeks before trial, Lively and Wayfarer settled the three remaining claims. According to The New York Times, Lively received no financial compensation.16The New York Times. Blake Lively Legal Fees Ruling Justin Baldoni Settlement The parties agreed to end “all differences and disputes” and waived any appellate rights tied to the litigation.17USA Today. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Settlement Agreement Revealed A joint statement said the production “presented challenges” and that “concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard,” committing to “workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.”18CNN. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Settlement
Wayfarer Ordered to Pay Lively’s Legal Fees
On June 12, 2026, Judge Liman ordered Wayfarer to pay Lively’s legal fees for defending against Baldoni’s dismissed defamation suit. The award relied on California Civil Code Section 47.1, an October 2023 law protecting people who report sexual misconduct from retaliatory defamation actions. The judge found Lively was the “prevailing defendant,” that her claims were brought in good faith, and that there was no evidence she acted with malice.19Variety. Blake Lively Attorney Fees Justin Baldoni It Ends With Us The dollar figure had not been set as of the ruling, and the judge denied Lively’s request for treble and punitive damages, finding them unavailable under federal law.20NBC News. Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Judge Ruling Defamation Legal Fees Both sides had agreed as part of the settlement to accept the fee ruling without appeal.
Related Cases Still Open
The settlement resolved Lively and Baldoni’s dispute with each other but not every case tied to It Ends With Us. Former Baldoni publicist Stephanie Jones and her firm Jonesworks sued Jennifer Abel, Melissa Nathan, Baldoni, and Wayfarer in December 2024, alleging Abel and Nathan conspired to steal clients and falsely pinned the smear campaign on Jones. The case was assigned to Judge Liman and remained active as of April 2026.21Court Listener. Jones v. Abel, Case No. 1:25-cv-0077922Courthouse News Service. Jones v. Abel Complaint Social media consultant Jed Wallace, dropped from Lively’s suit in July 2025 for lack of New York contacts, filed his own defamation case against Lively in Texas, denying he ran any smear campaign and claiming millions in reputational harm to himself and his firm Street Relations.23Page Six. Blake Lively Scores Victory in Court Battle Against PR Firm Tied to Justin Baldoni