About 18 months after the film “It Ends With Us” imploded in a tangle of lawsuits, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have reached a settlement in their legal dispute.
The movie, starring Lively and Baldoni as romantic partners whose relationship turns abusive, was based on a popular Colleen Hoover novel and released in August 2024. Several months later, Lively sued Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, for sexual harassment and retaliation; she accused Baldoni (who also directed the film) of misconduct on set and attempting to ruin her reputation via an online smear campaign when she spoke up. Two weeks later, Baldoni sued Lively and her movie-star husband, Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million for defamation; he alleged that Lively wrested control of the movie and tried to destroy his career and those of his colleagues.
“The parties in the Blake Lively and Wayfarer Studios litigation have reached an agreement to resolve the matters,” read a joint statement released by the lawyers for both actors. “The end product — the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. 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,” the statement continued. “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.”
The back-and-forth of the sprawling battle became a source of public fascination and endless online discourse — especially when documents leaked that included reams of text messages and communication between all parties involved (such as Lively’s close friend Taylor Swift, in whom she confided about the matter), as well as the public relations and crisis management professionals Baldoni enlisted. Shortly before he filed his lawsuit against Lively, Baldoni sued the New York Times for $250 million for libel for running a story headlined “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” which detailed the alleged machinations from Baldoni’s crisis PR team behind the scenes to paint Lively in a negative light on the internet.
In June 2025, the judge dismissed Baldoni’s suits against Lively and the Times. Last month, the judge dismissed Lively’s claims of sexual harassment but allowed her claims of retaliation to go forward.
The trial was set to start May 18 in New York.
Samantha Chery contributed to this report.
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