The high-profile legal battle between Blake Lively and the producer of Justin Baldoni will no longer go to trial. Two weeks before jury selection, the parties announced an agreementthe details of which have not yet been released.
Lively filed a lawsuit alleging that Baldoni sexually harassed her during the filming of “É Assim Que Acaba”, a film in which they acted together and which was directed by Baldoni. According to the star, the star later orchestrated a smear campaign to retaliate against her for reporting the alleged harassment. Baldoni denied all allegations.
Last month, a federal judge dismissed ten of the thirteen allegations in Lively’s lawsuit, including sexual harassment and defamation, narrowing the scope of the case. Some of the rejected allegations, including those of sexual harassment, were overturned on technical grounds, such as the fact that Lively was considered an independent professional and not an employee.
The remaining three charges — retaliation, complicity in retaliation and breach of contract — were aimed at his production company, Wayfarer, an LLC for the film, and a public relations firm hired by his team.
The trial, which was scheduled to begin on May 18 with jury selection, would be the culmination of a more than year-long legal drama that has captured the public’s interest.
In a statement released Monday by attorneys for Lively and the remaining defendants, they acknowledged that the film’s production process “presented challenges” and that the “concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard.”
“We remain firmly committed to work environments free from inappropriate and unproductive conduct,” the statement said. “We sincerely hope this brings closure to the case and allows everyone involved to move forward constructively and peacefully, including in a respectful online environment.”
How it all started: remember the case
The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni, when The New York Times reported that Lively had filed a complaint with the California Department of Civil Rights about Baldoni’s alleged conduct during and after the production of “It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name.
The actress later filed a civil suit in New York federal court against Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios and several others.
In the lawsuit, she alleged that the actor and director made sexual comments to women on the film set and talked about his personal sex life, including his “previous addiction to pornography.” She also accused him of improvising intimate scenes that had not been choreographed, including in some footage that was publicly released after the allegations.
In court filings, Baldoni said the alleged behavior amounted to “nothing more than misunderstandings and embarrassing comments” and argued that some of the conversations were relevant since the film’s story touches on intimate adult themes. The production team listened to Lively’s concerns at the time and implemented the changes she requested, he said.
The judicial process was marked by an exchange of accusations that generated headlines, especially when exchanges of text messages and videos of the filming became public. At one point, Lively’s correspondence with her friend, superstar Taylor Swift, became the focus of attention.
Last year, Lively’s lawyers accused Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, of making “misleading and selective” public statements about Lively and her ongoing legal dispute, and asked the court for a hearing “to address the appropriate conduct of attorneys going forward.” The judge responsible for the case advised lawyers to avoid public statements that could harm the case.
During the legal saga, Baldoni also filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively and her star husband, claiming they “hijacked” her film and tried to destroy her career. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last June.
The judge’s ruling did not address the merits of Baldoni’s complaint, but rather found that Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment were protected by law and could not serve as the basis for a defamation lawsuit.
The judge also dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Baldoni against the New York Times. Baldoni alleged that the article detailing Lively’s allegations was “riddled with inaccuracies, misrepresentations and omissions.” In a statement released at the time, the newspaper defended its reporting, stating that the article was “researched with meticulousness and responsibility.”
