The terms of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni‘s unusual settlement agreement, reached on Monday nearly a year and a half after Lively sued Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign, are now public.
On Thursday morning, lawyers for both parties submitted paperwork to the court notifying that they had officially agreed to settle the matter with prejudice, meaning Lively’s lawsuit can’t be revived.
However, Baldoni agreed that Lively can still seek attorney fees and treble and punitive damages that a judge may determine she is owed regarding Baldoni’s filing of a since-dismissed counter-defamation lawsuit against her. No matter the outcome of the judge’s decision, neither party will appeal the ruling.
Several outlets reported on Tuesday that neither Lively nor Baldoni would receive compensation as a result of the settlement, which arrived less than two weeks before the suit was set to go to trial. The trial was expected to last six to eight weeks.
Representatives for Lively and Baldoni did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment. But in a previous joint statement, they acknowledged they were happy to move forward. “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,” Lively and Wayfarer said on Monday. “Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind.”
In December 2024, months after the premiere of the blockbuster It Ends With Us, a movie Baldoni directed and Lively co-produced that starred both of them, Lively filed a suit alleging that Baldoni caused her “severe emotional distress” and harassed her sexually on set. She claimed Baldoni talked about his “pornography addiction,” past sexual encounters, and the genitalia of cast and crew. The situation was so toxic, the suit claimed, Sony Pictures had to be brought in for an emergency meeting.
Other claims in Lively’s original suit included Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath walking in on her while she was breastfeeding; Heath showing her a video of his wife naked; and the necessity for Lively to draw lines on the number of explicit sex scenes in the movie, which adapted Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name.
After news of the on-set discord spread in the media, Lively alleged that Baldoni hired Wayfarer Studios’ publicity department for “crisis management,” in an attempt to “destroy” her reputation. Several instances of alleged messages between Baldoni and PR reps seemed to show speculation on their part of how they could control the narrative.
Ten out of 13 of Lively’s claims, including her allegations of sexual harassment, were dismissed before they reached a settlement. The scheduled trial was to address Lively’s accusations of breach of contract and retaliation. Prior to the settlement, lawyers from both sides had been arguing at a hearing about how much Lively claimed she had lost as a result of the lawsuit. Lively’s team estimated the figure was between $39 million and $143 million, while Baldoni’s placed it at $21 million.
Baldoni countersued Lively for $400 million, accusing her of defamation and claiming she’d walk away from the project unless he met her demands, but a judge dismissed his claims. The media had a field day about his allegations in the suit that Taylor Swift was instrumental in pressuring him to rewrite a scene; a Swift spokesperson said Baldoni was just using her name to draw attention to his claims. He also sued The New York Times for their reporting on Lively’s suit, but a judge also dismissed that filing.
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