Top News

Washington DC [US], May 8 (ANI): Attorney Bryan Freedman, representing actor and filmmaker Justin Baldoni, has pushed back against claims made by lawyers for actress Blake Lively that the settlement in the legal battle between the 'It Ends With Us' co-stars amounted to a major victory for Lively, according to E! News.
The dispute follows a settlement agreement reached days before the case was scheduled to go to trial.
In a statement issued on May 7, Lively's attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson described the outcome as a "resounding victory" for the actress.
"This settlement is a resounding victory for Blake Lively," the attorneys said.
"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," they added.
The lawyers also argued that the settlement undermined previous allegations that Lively had fabricated her accusations.
"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," the statement read, according to E! News.
According to Lively's legal team, the actress filed the lawsuit to "expose and hold accountable those who weaponise smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors."
However, Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, rejected the characterisation of the settlement as a win for Lively.
"Let's be clear, this is a win and total victory for the Wayfarer parties," Freedman said in a statement.
"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 added, according to E! News.
Freedman further claimed that Lively's legal team chose to settle because they feared losing in court.
"In our view, they settled because they knew they were going to lose in court," he said.
"All that remains is a pending request for fees based on a very narrow issue that has been with the court since September 2025," Freedman added.
According to reports, Lively is still pursuing damages related to attorneys' fees, costs and punitive damages through a separate motion filed last year.
Court documents cited in reports stated that Lively and Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, settled nearly all remaining issues in the case and waived their rights to appeal.
Lively first sued Baldoni in 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment during the filming of 'It Ends With Us', based on the novel by Colleen Hoover, according to E! News.
She also alleged that Baldoni and his associates retaliated against her after she spoke out publicly.
Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, in January 2025, accusing them of conducting a smear campaign against him.
The countersuit was dismissed in June 2025 after a judge ruled that Baldoni had failed to prove defamation claims against the couple.
In April, a majority of Lively's claims against Baldoni--including allegations of sexual harassment--were thrown out by a judge. At the time, Lively's attorneys said they were still moving forward with the jury trial over claims of retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract, according to E! News. (ANI)