Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni spent six hours Wednesday behind closed doors in a Manhattan courthouse and walked out still on track for trial. The It Ends With Us co-stars failed to hammer out a settlement during a mediation session overseen by a federal magistrate judge, with Baldoni arriving alongside his wife, while Lively arrived solo. Their lawyers worked in separate rooms as is typical in such talks, but Baldoni attorney Bryan Freedman said afterward that no deal was reached and that the case appears headed for a May 18 trial, though negotiations could, in theory, resume, per Rolling Stone.
Neither Lively nor Baldoni spoke to reporters after the courthouse negotiations; the AP notes that "Lively looked stern as she walked out, while Baldoni was smiling." The dispute stems from Lively's December 2024 lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating an unsafe work environment, and using a crisis PR firm to orchestrate a misogynistic smear effort against her after the film's troubled press tour. Baldoni has denied the allegations and countersued Lively for $400 million, claiming defamation and extortion.
Baldoni also sued the New York Times for defamation; a judge dismissed both actions in June of last year. The wide-ranging case, described by the presiding judge as a "feud between PR firms," has name-checked friends of Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds, including Taylor Swift, as hundreds of filings and unsealed messages spill into public view. The AP notes that the trial could potentially be a "star-studded" one, as possible witnesses listed by Lively's legal team have included everyone from Swift and model Gigi Hadid to actors Emily Blunt, Hugh Jackman, and America Ferrera. (Page Six is curious why Lively and Baldoni seem to have color-coordinated their outfits Wednesday.)
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