Days after settling her legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni and his production Wayfarer Studios, Blake Lively‘s legal team is ready to speak out.
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Just as a Notice of Settlement and Stipulation was filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Lively’s legal team issued a statement.
“This settlement is a resounding victory for Blake Lively,” the actress’s lawyers stated.
Bryan Freedman, a lawyer who represented Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, had a different opinion. He believed the settlement was a “total victory” for his clients instead.
“Let’s be clear, this is a win and total victory for the Wayfarer parties,” he shared in his own statement. “The court had already dismissed 10 of Ms. Lively’s 13 claims, including every sexual harassment claim, every defamation claim, and all claims against the individual defendants.”
Freedman also shared, “Ms. Lively voluntarily dismissed the rest. In our view, they settled because they knew they were going to lose in court. All that remains is a pending request for fees based on a very narrow issue that has been with the court since September 2025.”
Both parties announced earlier this week that a settlement had been reached in the nearly two-year legal battle.
Lively first accused Baldoni of sexual harassment in December 2024. She claimed that he harassed her while on the set of It Ends With Us. The actress also accused her co-star of taking part in a smear campaign against her after she spoke out.
In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively.
Could Lively Pursue Legal Action Against Baldoni In the Future?
According to legal documents obtained by PEOPLE, the settlement stated that Lively can still seek legal fees and damages from Baldoni and Wayfarer.
She may do so under California Civil Code Section 47.1. This statute protects those who report sexual harassment or discrimination from retaliatory defamation suits. The settlement agreement also noted that Baldoni and Wayfarer “irrevoably waive[d] any appeal.”
However, under such a statute, Lively would have to prove that she prevailed against a defamation claim. Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively was dismissed last summer.
“By admitting that Ms. Lively’s concerns ‘deserve to be heard,’ the defendants have ended once and for all the fiction that Ms. Lively fabricated claims of sexual harassment and retaliation,” Lively’s lawyers declared in their latest statement.
The settlement also comes just after U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman dismissed several claims in the broader legal battle. Among claims dismissed were sexual harassment and defamation claims. He did allow the retaliation-related allegations to proceed. However, Baldoni had already been removed as an individual defendant from that portion of the case.
Both sides stated in a joint statement that they hoped the settlement would allow those involved to “move forward constructively and in peace.”