Blake Lively steps out at Met Gala hours after settling Justin Baldoni 'It Ends With Us' lawsuit
Blake Lively attended the Met Gala just hours after she and Justin Baldoni issued a joint statement that they had settled their high-profile lawsuit out of court. The actress, 38, appeared solo on the red carpet in archival Versace at the star-studded fundraiser on 4 May.
Lively had sued Baldoni following the pair's time working on 2024's It Ends With Us together, with the pair starring together and Baldoni also directing the film.
Ten of Lively's 13 civil claims had been dismissed just over a month ago, including all claims of harassment, though the pair had been set to commence with a trial in New York later this month.
Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, had counter-sued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, citing defamation and extortion. This was dismissed by a judge in June of last year.
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What had Lively claimed happened on the set of the film?
Lively had accused the director of sexually harassing her on the set of the film, alleging that he made comments which made her uncomfortable as well as 'improvising' intimate moments in scenes that she said had not been discussed. She also accused Baldoni of adding 'improvised gratuitous sexual content and/or scenes involving nudity into the film', including scenes in which she was expected to 'orgasm on-camera', after she had already signed onto the role.
She also accused Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath of a 'lack of boundaries', including claiming that Heath had shown her a fully nude video of his wife giving birth without her consent.
Lively also alleged that he had made comments about her weight, contacting her personal trainer to try and ask if she could lose weight for a scene in which she had to lift her just months after she gave birth. She also said that Baldoni had claimed to be able to 'communicate with the dead', namely her deceased father.
Her legal filling suggested that, when she raised these complains against Baldoni and the wider productions, he engaged in an online smear campaign against her, hiring crisis PR management.
The filing, published by the New York Times, included text messages between Baldoni's team, PR veteran Jennifer Abel and crisis management expert, Melissa Nathan.
This included Abel telling Nathan Baldoni 'wants to feel like she can be buried', and the teams celebrating when negative stories began cropping up about Lively.
What were Baldoni's claims to counter Lively's legal filing?
Baldoni denied these claims, himself releasing a massive online document of text messages and emails he claimed vindicated his side of the story and disproved her legal filing.
They suggested that the texts released in the filing by the New York Times were taken out of context.
The director suggested that the feud actually started due to a creative disagreement surrounding editing of the film, claiming that she had fallen out with him after trying to wrestle control of the movie.
Baldoni's legal team also released video footage he claimed vindicated him, though others suggested it showed Lively visibly uncomfortable.
He also alleged that Ryan Reynolds had confronted him at his and Lively's home, suggesting that the actor had confronted him, saying: "How dare you f***ing ask about my wife's weight? What's wrong with you?" Baldoni suggests this was aggressive, and also alleged that Reynolds parodied him in Deadpool and Wolverine with a character called 'Nicepool' who is a faux feminist with a manbun.
Baldoni claimed that Reynolds also attempted to have him fired by his agency, suggesting that he confronted an executive at WME and called the director a 'sexual predator'.
What did the joint statement released by Lively and Baldoni say?
Baldoni and Lively's team released a joint statement about the lawsuit being settled, telling Variety: “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.
"We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard.
"We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”
Blake didn't address the lawsuit on the red carpet, even as reporters questioned her as she posed for photos.
Speaking to Vogue, she focused on her Judith Leiber clutch, which featured drawings by her children, and her Versace dress. “They MET-ified it by adding a big beautiful train. It’s a piece from 2006 and it’s just such an honour to wear this gorgeous, gorgeous gown. It looks like a sunrise and a sunset and watercolour.”
Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity, TV and Film, Film
Michael Slavin