Feb 12, 2026 11:56am IST
Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni’s Fail To Resolve Their Dispute, Trial Moves To May 18
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni failed to come to a mutual agreement on their dispute in the court-ordered settlement in New York. The case has now been shifted to May 18. In a fresh development, some unsealed documents and viral exchanges were also presented before the jury. Blake Lively arrived alone, while Justin Baldoni was with his wife, Emily Baldoni, at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan, New York. This was the first time the two parties met in a courthouse after they pressed legal charges against one another. It has been reported that the two parties did try to settle this out of court, but all attempts proved futile.
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“Gossip Girl” actress Lively had filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, where she alleged sexual harassment, emotional distress, and retaliatory conduct during the shoot of their movie, “It Ends With Us,” which was a box office success. She has sought USD 550 million from the filmmaker as compensation. Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, spoke to reporters outside the court, confirming that the talks did not lead to a settlement. However, he did not rule out a chance in the future. The trial is now scheduled for May. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave supervised the settlement conference.
Several court documents were also revealed before the court. One of them is a message from a Sony executive who refers to Blake Lively as a “terrorist.” Voice notes between the actress and filmmaker were also presented before the judge. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Taylor Swift are some of the other celebrities whose names came up in the case.
In June 2025, Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s USD 400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Now, all eyes are on May 18 to see how this matter moves forward.
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