Taking the witness stand in a Manhattan courtroom to testify about the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding It Ends with Us was among the very last things they ever wanted to do.
So Blake Lively’s A-list friends are breathing a sigh of relief now that she has settled her case against director and co-star Justin Baldoni two weeks before the trial.
The legal proceedings would have created a blast zone and drawn in some of the biggest names in Hollywood like Taylor Swift, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck and her own husband Ryan Reynolds to dish the dirt on the drama surrounding the film.
Even with the drawn-out case now settled and a terse joint statement issued, the fallout over the bitter legal battle is likely not over.
Although both have upcoming projects, neither Lively, 38, nor Baldoni, 42, is in particularly good stead, thanks to the saga with Baldoni even leaving Hollywood behind and moving to Nashville with his family.
Lively has seen high-profile friendships flame out with former pals like Swift left irate after being dragged into the legal wrangle.
Blake Lively returned to the red carpet at the Met Gala on Monday just hours after settling her legal battle with Justin Baldoni
The surprise agreement was seen as a win for Justin Baldoni, with no money changing hands despite the scale of Blake Lively’s claims
‘This settlement between Lively and Baldoni comes as no surprise,’ entertainment lawyer Tre Lovell of LA’s Lovell Firm told the Daily Mail.
‘Each celebrity had already taken a hit to their brand and career, and a loss at trial would have exponentially made that worse.
‘The best move was to settle the case and both save face, putting their own side in the best light.’
Lively launched the legal fight back in December 2024, making 13 lurid claims that Baldoni sexually harassed her and launched a smear campaign against her – 10 of which, including the sex harassment component, were struck down by Judge Lewis Liman last month.
The trial was still due to kick off on May 18, but covering only three counts: retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of an agreement, known as the Contract Rider.
Baldoni filed a countersuit in January 2025 naming Reynolds as a defendant drawing other celebrities including Swift and Reynolds into the legal tangle.
Lively and popstar Taylor Swift once shared a close relationship until their friendship was strained by the high-profile case
Emily Blunt and Gigi Hadid were also listed as potential witnesses who could give testimony on alleged conduct of those involved
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Memorably, Baldoni’s team included a remark made by Lively, 38, comparing herself to Game of Thrones character Khaleesi and referring to Reynolds and Swift as her ‘dragons’.
Just a month after the countersuit was filed, Lively was a notable no-show in the billionaire singer’s box at the Super Bowl where she was supporting her fiancé Travis Kelce – the previous year, she had been front and center as the Kansas City Chiefs triumphed in Las Vegas.
Swift was left even angrier when Baldoni’s team attempted to subpoena texts between her and Lively and the erstwhile pals haven’t been photographed together in over a year.
Reynolds, too, has taken a hit from the saga and while Lively did put in a surprise appearance at the Met Gala hours after settling the case, she was flying solo – as she also did for her sole court appearance in February.
Baldoni, 42, was accompanied to court by Emily, his wife of 13 years.
Worse still was an embarrassing document dump in January that saw many of the legal filings unsealed, dragging a virtual galaxy of stars into the case.
Most of the blushes were Lively’s with papers showing the mom-of-four exchanging hours of texts with Swift about the case, and dragging in her husband’s friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds was also named in Baldoni’s countersuit as the case took an increasingly personal turn
Bradley Cooper, who worked as a producer on It Ends With Us, was dragged into the drama after court filings revealed Lively had name-dropped him in her letter to the PGA
In texts to Affleck and Damon, Lively moaned that filming It Ends With Us was ‘the most upsetting experience I’ve ever had on a movie’ and adding ‘[it] nearly killed me’.
Other messages included in the files came from Vogue supremo Anna Wintour – who co-hosted the Met Gala with Reynolds and Lively in 2022 – in which she called It Ends with Us ‘a very brave and moving film’.
She also hinted she was aware of the drama with Baldoni, writing: ‘Knowing how hard a situation it was for you made me especially proud of you.’
Also hauled into the case was Bradley Cooper who was dragged into the drama after Lively’s five-page letter to the Producers Guild of America (PGA) seeking a coveted producing credit was submitted in court filings showing she name-dropped ‘her friend’ while highlighting the ‘immense work’ she had done on the movie.
An unsealed witness list obtained by the Daily Mail after Monday’s surprise settlement also underscored just how many high-profile figures could’ve been dragged into court at trial.
Among the names included were Emily Blunt, Gigi Hadid, Hugh Jackman and all three members of the band HAIM named as having ‘potential knowledge of events’.
Other names on the list included America Ferreira, It Ends With Us co-star Jenny Slate and Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn.
But of all the names on the list, the one hit hardest by the bitter battle is author Colleen Hoover who wrote It Ends with Us.
Initially thrilled to see her novel turned into a movie, Hoover, 41, said in a recent interview she had been left mortified by the legal morass.
‘I can’t even recommend it anymore,’ Hoover told Elle in November. ‘I feel like [the lawsuit] has overshadowed it.
‘I’m almost embarrassed to say I wrote it. When people ask what I do, I’m just like, “I’m a writer. Please don’t ask me what I wrote”.’
The fallout from the nasty legal battle is likely to continue for both Lively and Baldoni
Some big names such as Hailey Bieber were also dragged in obliquely who allegedly appeared in a social media post shown by Baldoni to his team that accused her of a history of bullying other woman.
An approving Baldoni allegedly commented to his publicist: ‘This is what we would need.’
Also pulled into the case were Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard who were the subject of a memorable discussion between Reynolds and his agent Warren Zavala.
In a text exchange, Zavala suggested the couple stop and ‘see if the noise subsides’ to which Reynolds replied, in a reference to Heard’s abuse allegations: ‘How’d that work out for Depp??’
In an echo of how the fight between Lively and Baldoni played out, Zavala noted: ‘Not well. Cratered both of them ultimately.’
