The legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively is still ongoing, as both parties strive to settle their high-stakes lawsuit.
It’s been 18 months since the initial legal actions were filed by both Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Lively has accused Baldoni of initiating a smear campaign against her, aiming to damage her public image.
In December 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, alleging retaliation and sexual harassment, seeking approximately $160 million in damages.
A trial was initially set to take place in New York in May 2026, but the two have been in mediation to try and reach a settlement.
Despite six hours of negotiation, no resolution has been found.
Reports indicate that Lively exited with her attorney, while Baldoni and his spouse left shortly thereafter, hand in hand.
Baldoni had filed a countersuit against Lively and Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of extortion and defamation, but this was dismissed by a judge.
The Daily Mail revealed that their mediation occurred in adjacent courtrooms within the New York courthouse. Lively promptly left the venue with her lawyer Michael Gottlieb.
A source stated that no settlement had been achieved, and the next meeting is scheduled for Thursday in hopes of reaching an agreement.
This represents a final effort to settle the dispute within the US District Court in Manhattan before proceeding to trial.
Judge Sarah L Cave will oversee the case, which will be closed to the media.
It was reported that neither Lively nor Baldoni attended the settlement conference on January 22, which took place shortly after Lively’s December 21, 2024 text messages to Taylor Swift were made public.
In the text exchange following Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, Swift told her: “You won. You did it.”
Recently, texts from Ryan Reynolds concerning Baldoni have also surfaced.
In a message dated August 2024, Reynolds expressed: “I’m super frustrated because this is a moment in which Blake should be celebrating. She made this unbelievable win happen.
“She WILLED this weekend into reality. Baldoni and these other buckets of dumb-dumb-juice should be acknowledging the speculation and gossip themselves.
“They should be jumping in front of it in the most full throated, unqualified way. Now.”
He allegedly added to a WME executive: “I’d put Blake’s reputation on trial any day of the week. She’s worked with … dozens of other mercurial, and abusive people.
“In her experience (and mine), nobody has ever reached the empyrean heights of vile the way Justin Baldoni has.
“His complete lack of not only remorse but self-preservation is a character study in malignant, lazy-lidded stupidity and darkness.”
Currently, there are no new developments in the legal proceedings.
Representatives of Blake Lively were contacted for comment.