Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s $60 Million Legal Battle ‘Took a Serious Toll on Both Sides’

Blake Lively was a vision in Versace at the star-studded Met Gala in New York City on May 4. Dressed in a sweeping archival gown with a flowing 13-foot pastel-hued train and carrying a custom Judith Lieber clutch designed with artwork by her four children, the actress looked radiant as she waved to fans and smiled for photographers on the steps of the famed Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Her appearance at the glitzy, high-profile event came as a surprise — just a few hours earlier, the 38-year-old and her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni, 42, announced they’d settled their nasty legal dispute two weeks before it was set to go to trial. In January 2025, Blake sued the production company, Justin and others for sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her; Justin filed a $400 million defamation countersuit shortly after (his claims were dismissed last June). In a joint statement, their attorneys said, “It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace.”

Blake’s clearly signaling she’s ready to put the toxic feud — which has threatened her once-thriving career and forced Hollywood to take sides — behind her. But moving on may not be easy for her or Justin, both of whom reportedly spent a combined $60 million on legal fees, with virtually nothing to show for it. It appears that neither Blake nor Justin were awarded any money in the settlement (Blake has a pending motion against Justin for damages and attorney fees related to his countersuit.) And while the statement acknowledged that “concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard,” it wasn’t exactly an apology. “It’s difficult to put any type of positive spin on this,” a source tells Star, adding, “ultimately no one can declare themselves a winner.”

Change of Heart

The settlement was all the more shocking because just a week earlier, Blake’s lawyer Sigrid McCawley insisted her client had no intention of throwing in the towel. “Blake’s been ready for this trial, it’s a moment she’s been waiting for a long time, to have her voice heard in this court,” McCawley said. In the run-up to the trial, Blake had alleged that Justin openly discussed his porn addiction and improvised during intimate scenes, among other claims, and produced texts showing his publicist declaring “we are going to war” as they plotted to make Justin look more favorable. However, Blake lost steam after judge Lewis Liman threw out her sexual harassment claim in early April, leaving only her allegations of a smear campaign. (All claims against Justin as an individual were dismissed, but the production company he cofounded remained a defendant.) “It became increasingly apparent that she was beating a dead horse,” explains the source.

More titillating were texts from Hollywood execs and famous friends of Blake and her actor husband, Ryan Reynolds, including Taylor Swift. The actress famously called her then-bestie a “dragon” after she swept in to apply pressure on Justin. (The “So High School” singer is said to have distanced herself from the Another Simple Favor star after having her private messages with Blake exposed; her rep accused Justin’s team of subpoenaing Taylor for “tabloid clickbait.”)

Saving Face

Despite the seeming truce, the source says Blake is still fuming over having to forego a mea culpa from Justin in the May 4 statement. “The fact that they’ve had to settle without Justin needing to make an apology is the final insult,” the source says.

Justin, meanwhile, feels some vindication. It was “a win and total victory,” his attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement to TMZ. “He was up against a legal juggernaut, with Blake and Ryan throwing an absolute fortune at the case from the get-go, but he never wavered,” says the source. Still, adds the source, “it cost way too much and took a serious toll on both sides.”

Blake’s lawyers, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, also called the settlement “a resounding victory,” Deadline reported. But in reality, all Blake can do now is look forward. In legal filings unsealed in late 2025, she claimed the case cost her $161 million in earnings. While It Ends With Us raked in $351 million, prequels and sequels to the film, based on Colleen Hoover‘s books, are now out of the question. “It’s hard to imagine how Blake will bounce back,” says the source. “She can only hope to salvage what’s left of her career.”