Blake Lively<\/a>, this was never about money \u2013 it was about exposing bad actors who are also harming others.<\/p>\n\n \u201cShe didn\u2019t settle her claims until the documents exposing the bad actors behind smear campaigns were made public \u2013 documents that have led to other lawsuits and investigations.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWith this motion, she is breathing life into a groundbreaking statute designed to protect survivors from retaliatory lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe issue emerged from Justin\u2019s now-dismissed $400 million countersuit against Blake, along with related claims involving Wayfarer Studios chief executive Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel, financier Steve Sarowitz and crisis PR consultant Melissa Nathan.<\/p>\n
\nBefore Blake and Justin\u2019s settlement was finalised, US District Judge Lewis Liman dismissed several claims in the broader case, including sexual harassment and defamation allegations, while allowing retaliation-related matters to continue.<\/p>\n
\nBlake\u2019s attorneys, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, later described the settlement as \u201ca resounding victory\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nThey said in a statement to People: \u201cBy agreeing to this settlement, and waiving their right to appeal, Justin Baldoni and every individual defendant now face personal liability for abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate Ms. Lively.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nJustin\u2019s attorney, Bryan Freedman, rejected that interpretation.<\/p>\n
\nBryan said: \u201cLet\u2019s be clear, this is a win and total victory for the Wayfarer parties.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe court had already dismissed 10 of Ms. Lively\u2019s 13 claims, including every sexual harassment claim, every defamation claim, and all claims against the individual defendants.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHe added: \u201cMs. Lively voluntarily dismissed the rest. In our view, they settled because they knew they were going to lose in court.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nLawyers for Wayfarer have also argued California\u2019s legal protections should not apply because many incidents connected to filming allegedly took place in New Jersey, where much of It Ends With Us was shot.<\/p>\n
\nLast week, Judge Liman reportedly indicated he did not currently require additional briefing on the issue.<\/p>\n
\nThe dispute has unfolded during a particularly visible period in Blake\u2019s career, with the actress continuing to attract attention for both It Ends With Us and ongoing public appearances alongside husband Ryan Reynolds. <\/p>\n
\nJustin, meanwhile, remains known for his role in Jane the Virgin and for directing relationship-focused dramas including Five Feet Apart.<\/p>\n
\nBlake and Justin agreed earlier this month to avoid a high-profile trial that had been scheduled to begin on 18 May in New York City after their legal conflict exploded after allegations first made by Blake in December 2024, when the actress accused her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin of sexual harassment and alleged he and associates linked to Wayfarer Studios orchestrated a smear campaign after she raised concerns about conduct on set. <\/p>\n
\nJustin has denied the allegations throughout the proceedings.<\/p>\n
\nEarlier this month, both sides issued a rare joint statement reflecting on their work together on It Ends With Us, the film adaptation of It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. <\/p>\n
\nThe film became one of the year\u2019s most talked-about releases amid both box office success and intense media scrutiny surrounding the legal fallout between its stars.<\/p>\n
\nThe statement said: \u201cThe end product \u2013 the movie It Ends With Us \u2013 is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIt added: \u201cRaising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors \u2013\u00a0and all survivors \u2013 is a goal that we stand behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"18 May 2026 Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are locked in disagreements over attorneys\u2019 fees and legal protections tied to California law. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are locked in disagreements over attorneys\u2019 fees and legal protections tied to California law The actress, 38, and filmmaker, 42, recently reached a settlement in their explosive legal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":240991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1457,8588,15330,10505,10217,10667,5935,14532,10668,11252,52,11401],"class_list":{"0":"post-240990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-make-up","8":"tag-blake-lively","9":"tag-bryan-freedman","10":"tag-colleen-hoover","11":"tag-esra-hudson","12":"tag-jamey-heath","13":"tag-jennifer-abel","14":"tag-justin-baldoni","15":"tag-lewis-liman","16":"tag-melissa-nathan","17":"tag-michael-gottlieb","19":"tag-steve-sarowitz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}