Justin Baldoni and his wife, Emily, posted a video to Instagram on Wednesday afternoon in which they opened up about the legal battle with Blake Lively over the events surrounding the production of the 2024 drama film “It Ends with Us.”
“We have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years, and it’s not because we haven’t had anything to say, because lord knows we have,” Baldoni said. “But it just felt like every time we went to make a video like this, we wanted to speak, something was telling us not to. It just didn’t feel like the right time, and we were talking about it and feeling into it and praying about it.”
Emily then chimed in. She said that there is “so much to say” about her husband’s dispute with Lively, which started all the way back in 2024. The first damino fell in December of that year, when Lively alleged Baldoni sexually harassed her and tried to orchestrate an online smear campaign against her while filming “It Ends with Us.” Baldoni was Lively’s director and co-star on that film.
“It makes it hard to figure out what is right for this specific moment,” she said. “But what does feel important is that we can genuinely say that we are sitting here today feeling immense gratitude for so many things and so many people.”
Baldoni added, “Gratitude has saved us.”
After two years of silence, Baldoni and Emily felt the need to “share something,” considering that “there have been so many painful things spoken into existence” since the bombshell allegations dropped. Baldoni explained that the plan, up until now, was to “let the justice system run its course” and not “add to the noise.” Emily asserted that “the facts have spoken for themselves” in the years-long scandal.
Baldoni went on to thank everyone who “had discernment” and supported him during this difficult chapter.
“You have given your time to fight for us, and thank you does not feel like enough,” he said. “But we’re here, in large part, because of so many of you and all of our friends and family. One thing that we’ve learned is that when God presses the reset button and everything else is stripped away, that’s when love shows up, and we feel so loved.”
After Lively’s allegations, Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios shot back with a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing her of weaponizing false allegations of sexual assault to take control of the “It Ends with Us.” That suit was dismissed after a judge ruled that Lively’s accusations were protected by litigation privilege.
Just before the trial was set to commence in May, Lively dropped her lawsuit and settled with Baldoni and Wayfarer. No cash exchanged hands, but now, Lively is seeking $7.5 million in lawyer fees from Baldoni and Wayfarer.
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