It End With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have settled a two-year legal battle.
Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer, was for sexual harassment after she accused him and his team of marshaling a plan to undermine her reputation in retaliation for speaking up about misconduct on the set of the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The report says that Baldoni then countersued for $400 million, claiming that Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, orchestrated a campaign to smear him. Baldoni’s lawsuit was later dismissed.
After a few attempts to settle, the parties could never reach an agreement, until now, two weeks before the trial was to begin on 18 May.
In April, 10 of Blake’s 13 claims against Baldoni and Wayfarer were dismissed by Judge Lewis Liman, leaving breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation for Baldoni to defend.
According to TMZ, both parties released a statement after the settlement was reached on Monday, saying: “The end product – the movie It Ends With Us – is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors – and all survivors – is a goal that we stand behind. We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognise concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments… It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”