Blake Lively and Baldoni's company reach settlement two weeks before trial
Kyiv • UNN
The parties settled the lawsuit regarding harassment and breach of contract two weeks before the trial. Previously, the judge had dismissed ten out of thirteen of the actress's claims.
The high-profile legal battle between actress Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's production company will no longer go to trial after the parties announced a settlement just two weeks before jury selection was set to begin, UNN reports, citing CNN.
Details
The details of the settlement have not yet been disclosed.
Lively filed a complaint alleging that Baldoni subjected her to sexual harassment during the filming of "It Ends With Us," in which they starred together and Baldoni served as director. According to Lively, Baldoni later organized a smear campaign to retaliate against her for speaking out about the alleged abuse. Baldoni denied all allegations.
Last month, a federal judge dismissed ten of the thirteen counts in Lively's lawsuit, including allegations of sexual harassment and defamation, effectively narrowing the scope of the case. Some of the dismissed claims, including the sexual harassment claims, were tossed out due to legal technicalities, such as Lively being considered an independent contractor rather than an employee.
US court dismisses most of Blake Lively's claims against Justin Baldoni04.04.26, 10:41 • 50227 views
The three remaining claims—retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract—were not brought against Baldoni personally. The defendants in the remaining claims were his production company Wayfarer, an LLC created for the film, and a PR agency hired by his team.
The trial, which was scheduled to begin on May 18 with jury selection, would have been the culmination of a year-long legal drama that captured public attention.
In a statement released Monday by lawyers for Lively and the other defendants, they acknowledged that the filmmaking process "presented challenges" and that "the concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard."
"We remain firmly committed to creating workplaces free from harassment and unproductive environments," the statement said. "We sincerely hope that this brings an end to the conflict and allows all involved to move forward constructively and peacefully, including a respectful environment online."