Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively Strike a Deal, Sidestepping Trial

After a year and a half of filings, counters, and a trial date staring them down, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have called off their legal fight over It Ends With Us. They settled.

"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."

Lively, 38, and Baldoni, 42, delivered that joint message via their attorneys on Monday, May 4, adding that the process had its bumps and that Lively's concerns deserved to be heard. They also said they want workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments, and hope the settlement closes the book so everyone can move forward peacefully - including toning down the online nastiness.

What changed between filing day and today

• December 2024: Lively sues Baldoni (her director and costar on It Ends With Us), his publicity team, and others, accusing him of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, and orchestrating a smear campaign. She says she was retaliated against for speaking up.
• Throughout: Baldoni denies everything and countersues Lively.
• June 2025: A judge tosses Baldoni's countersuit against Lively.
• April: U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, in Manhattan, pares Lively's case way down. He dismisses most of her claims - including harassment, defamation, and conspiracy - but leaves three claims standing for trial: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation.
• After that ruling, Baldoni's side (the Wayfarer defendants) publicly notes that the court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and every claim brought against the individual defendants.
• Lively's team, led by attorney Sigrid McCawley, counters that the heart of the case was always retaliation - alleging the defendants took extraordinary steps to wreck Lively's reputation after she pushed for safety on set - and says the people behind coordinated digital attacks have been exposed and are already facing accountability elsewhere.
• Leading up to trial: Judge Liman had suggested both sides consider settling before the scheduled start.
• Jury selection had been set to begin Monday, May 18. Instead, the parties settled on May 4.

The timing here is the headline

This wrapped just two weeks before jury selection. That is late in the game, but not unheard of when a judge has already narrowed the battlefield to contract and retaliation issues. Liman had essentially put a pin in the fireworks by knocking out the sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy claims in April, while keeping the core retaliation questions alive. With a jury imminent - and the judge openly nudging both sides toward a deal - they found a lane out.

How each side spun the April ruling

Baldoni's camp walked out of that order emphasizing what was gone: the sexual harassment claims and all claims against the individual defendants. Their message was basically: these were serious accusations, and the court sifted the facts, the law, and a mountain of paperwork before dismissing them.

Lively's team zeroed in on what was still on the docket: retaliation. McCawley framed the case as being about the fallout Lively faced for raising safety concerns on set, and said that behind-the-scenes digital takedown tactics had been dragged into the light and were already biting back elsewhere.

So where does this leave It Ends With Us?

For a movie that tackles domestic violence, the joint statement is notably aligned on the film 's purpose: awareness and impact for survivors. It is also a clear bid to cool down the discourse, especially online. They did not share terms beyond the statement, but the message is: case closed, please keep it respectful.

And yes, for anyone keeping score, the tonal shift from a bruising court fight to a unified we-stand-behind-the-film note a couple weeks before a jury gets seated is a pretty abrupt turn. But that is often how these Hollywood- adjacent legal sagas end - right before the most public chapter begins.