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In a striking scene outside a New York City courthouse, Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively made an entrance in coordinating outfits ahead of their highly anticipated “It Ends With Us” legal face-off.
Lively donned a stylish khaki double-breasted suit paired with a tan vest over a pink button-up, accessorized with a green suede purse and a lucky five-leaf clover pin. She arrived with her legal team to confront Baldoni, marking their first encounter since the legal proceedings commenced in December 2024.
Baldoni, flashing a warm smile, sported an olive teddy coat complemented by a pink scarf as he entered with his attorney, Bryan Freedman.
Noticeably missing from the courthouse was Ryan Reynolds, while Baldoni was accompanied by his supportive wife, Emily.
Over a year after Lively filed allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation against Baldoni on the film’s production, both parties are set to engage in a court-mandated settlement conference this Wednesday at the US District Court in Manhattan. This meeting represents their final opportunity to reach an agreement before the trial scheduled for May 18.
The closed-door hearing, overseen by Judge Sarah L. Cave, will be closed to the media and public as she presses both sides toward a potential settlement.
Blake Lively arrives at court for her showdown with Justin BaldoniÂ
Justin Baldoni arrives for ‘settlement conference’Â
Baldoni had his wife Emily firmly by his side for support
Lively walking into the NY district court alongside her lawyer
Lively walking into court wearing a five-leaf clover pin
At their previous hearing on January 22 – which neither attended – the pair also took part in a settlement conference, just days after a trove of legal filings spilled Lively’s private, and often explosive, text messages with A-list friends.
The messages, released on January 19, included one sent the day after she filed her complaint, in which Lively celebrated Baldoni being dropped by his powerhouse agency, WME – with Taylor Swift by her side.
The victory lap texts, exchanged on December 21, 2024, according to court papers, began with Swift telling Lively: ‘You won. You did it.’
‘You f***ing helped so many people who won’t have to go through this ever again,’ Swift later added.
After all the negative publicity Blake had received about her ‘insensitivity’ to the domestic abuse theme of the film during its promotion, Swift said: ‘Never has a cancellation been reversed so fast.
‘You guys don’t understand how rare this is. To have proof and to take the perfect steps to bring that truth to light.’
Lively replied: ‘Like. My. God.’
Then: ‘I love you so much. I would not be ok through any of this if it weren’t for you.’
The texts were revealed in a lengthy court document filed in the federal court in New York in which Lively responded to dozens of claims made by Baldoni.
In the file, Baldoni’s lawyers wrote: ‘On April 12, 2023, Lively asked her friend, the world-famous musician Taylor Swift, for help.
‘Referring to Baldoni as “this doofus director of my movie,” she went on to describe him as “a clown” who “thinks he’s a writer now”.
‘She asked Swift to endorse the revised script she was proposing even without having read it.’
One text to the singer from Lively read: ‘You don’t have to read of course.’
In another part, the court document states: ‘Swift agreed to do Lively’s bidding, texting Lively: “I’ll do anything for you !!”‘
Lively’s side disputed that she asked Swift to endorse the script without reading it, only that she ‘hoped she would’.Â
Lively has alleged that the erosion of her public image is due, in part, to a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni’s team after she spoke out about sexual harassment – claims his attorneys have vehemently denied.
She says she suffered at least $161 million in lost earnings and damages after Baldoni allegedly harassed her and then unleashed a social-media-driven campaign against her as the film was released in summer 2024.