Blake Lively still going after Justin Baldoni after their settlement

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal war may be over – but they are still firing shots at each other, the Daily Mail can reveal. 

Just days after the feuding parties reached a settlement in Lively’s nearly two-year long battle against her It Ends With Us co-star, the actress is still pursuing him for legal fees and damages tied to his failed $400 million defamation case against her.  

Baldoni had countersued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and the New York Times in early 2025, but a judge dismissed the lawsuit last year.

Now Lively is demanding he pay the costs of her responding to his lawsuit in a move that could spark weeks of more fighting. 

She is also demanding ‘compensatory damages tripled, and punitive damages,’  according to a court filing.

The document was filed at a New York court three days after Lively settled her own case against Baldoni, just two weeks before it was meant to go to trial.

Blake Lively – who returned to the red carpet at the Met Gala just hours after settling her legal battle with Justin Baldoni – is still pursuing him for legal feels after their case was settled 

Justin Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer had countersued Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million, accusing them of defamation and extortion. The judge dismissed the claims last June

In a joint statement announcing the settlement, neither side apologized but they acknowledged Lively’s claims ‘deserved to be heard.’ 

Lively’s attorneys commented further on Thursday, in their own statement calling the agreement a ‘resounding victory’ for their client.

‘By agreeing to this settlement, and waiving their right to appeal, Justin Baldoni and every individual defendant now face personal liability for abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate Ms Lively.

‘And by admitting that Ms Lively’s concerns ‘deserved to be heard’ the defendants have ended once and for all the fiction that Ms Lively ‘fabricated’ claims of sexual harassment and retaliation.

‘From day one Blake Lively’s mission was clear: expose and hold accountable those who weaponize smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors. That mission continues,’ the statement concluded. 

The Gossip Girl star’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb said the court should impose ‘severe and mandatory penalties against any party who files unsuccessful retaliatory defamation actions against sexual harassment and retaliation complainants.’

The surprise settlement marked the end of a two-year legal battle over the fallout from the 2024 movie It Ends With Us. It comes two weeks before the case was set to go to trial

He argued that Lively’s allegations against Baldoni were legally protected because she made them with the California Civil Rights Department.

Judge Lewis Liman, who oversaw both cases, agreed with her and dismissed Baldoni’s case in November last year on that basis.

Gottlieb wrote that California Civil Code Section 47.1, the applicable law, was designed to ensure that people who claim sexual harassment can ‘share their experiences with courts, agencies, the press, and others without fear of suit.’ 

Gottlieb also asked to submit a five-page brief to the court explaining how they want the judge to award her the money, according to the court documents.

The law was passed in 2023 in response to the MeToo movement and is relatively untested in the courts.

Meanwhile, Baldoni’s lawyers say any attempt to make him cover Lively’s costs for his own lawsuit would be ‘draconian.’ 

Filings obtained by the Daily Mail reveal Lively is seeking legal fees and additional damages tied to Baldoni’s dismissed lawsuit 

They have said that he had a right to defend himself and that Lively is asking the judge to find that ‘she is immune from any culpability for her wrongful acts.’ 

He urged Judge Liman to impose ‘significant remedies’ on Baldoni including treble damages and punitive damages. 

While the full settlement has not yet been made public so far, one court document noted that both sides waived their right to appeal it.

A source in the Baldoni camp played down the request from Gottlieb, noting that Judge Liman was going to rule on it anyway.

In their own statement Thursday, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said the settlement was a ‘win and total victory’ for their side. 

‘The court had already dismissed 10 of Ms Lively’s 13 claims, including every sexual harassment claim, every defamation claim, and all claims against the individual defendants. Ms Lively voluntarily dismissed the rest,’ he said. 

Baldoni’s camp is said to be ‘ecstatic’ with how the case was resolved, likely due to the fact that it ended with no financial payout

‘In our view, they settled because they knew they were going to lose in court. All that remains is a pending request for fees based on a very narrow issue that has been with the court since September 2025.’ 

Any legal fees could be in the tens of thousands of dollars rather than a significant sum, the source told the Daily Mail. 

Earlier this week the Daily Mail revealed Lively did not get a single dollar from the surprise settlement.

Despite claiming she lost nearly $300 million in earnings and income after being the victim of an alleged ‘smear campaign,’ no money changed hands in the final agreement. 

Sources in Baldoni’s camp said they were ‘ecstatic’ with how the case was resolved, and now it’s easy to see why.

The lack of a financial settlement is a sharp contrast to Lively’s requests to be compensated for the damage to her reputation and film career.

The former ‘Gossip Girl’ star claimed in court documents that she lost as much as $40.5 million due to being branded a ‘mean girl’ and a ‘bully’.

She claimed in court filings that she missed out on up to $87.8 million in lost acting and endorsement opportunities.

Up to $143.5 million more was supposedly lost in profits from Lively’s haircare and alcohol range after the controversy over the film

Baldoni’s lawyers called these claims ‘pie in the sky’ figures and said that Lively’s reputation was already damaged due to her own actions.