The legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively may officially be heading toward closure, but the war of words is clearly far from over.
Just days after the former It Ends With Us co-stars announced they had reached a settlement in their highly publicized lawsuit, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman is speaking out — and he’s not holding back.
Earlier this week, a joint statement confirmed that the case would no longer proceed to trial, marking a major turning point in the legal drama that has dominated headlines since late 2024. While both sides appeared ready to move on publicly, Freedman’s latest comments suggest tensions are still running high behind the scenes.
Speaking to TMZ, the attorney accused Lively of settling because she allegedly did not want to testify under oath in court.
“Part of the reason Blake settled is because she was scared to take the witness stand at trial. She did not want to face cross examination by anyone because that would require her to tell the truth.”
Freedman continued by alleging that Lively had been dishonest throughout the proceedings, specifically referencing claims involving It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover and internal production materials connected to the film adaptation.
“Blake lied about telling Sony to destroy the dailies. She lied that she never told Colleen Hoover to unfollow Justin Baldoni. In her deposition, Colleen said Blake asked her to unfollow him. And there were more lies.”
The attorney also pointed to the financial outcome of the case, arguing that the settlement did not amount to a win for Lively despite statements from her legal team earlier in the day celebrating the resolution as a victory.
“Bottom line … Blake filed a claim for $300 million and she ended up with nothing. If this is a resounding victory, what does a defeat look like?”
Freedman then shifted focus toward Lively’s public comments throughout the case, particularly her repeated statements about standing up for survivors of sexual assault, harassment, and retaliation. According to him, the actress should have been willing to take the case all the way through trial if those motivations were genuine.
“If she’s doing this for survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment and retaliation as she says, then why don’t you take the stand at trial and prove it to the world? A trial would have exposed her lies and the entire smear she was talking about in her interviews that she did.”
Lively’s camp wasted little time responding. Her legal team fired back with a sharp one-line statement directed at Freedman’s latest remarks.
“I guess he’s no longer ‘ecstatic’ about the settlement.”
The latest exchange comes after months of increasingly tense public back-and-forth between both sides, with legal filings, media statements, and online discourse surrounding the It Ends With Us production becoming one of Hollywood’s most closely watched controversies.
While the central lawsuit may now be settled, the courtroom chapter is not entirely over yet. According to court filings, Lively is still pursuing a separate motion tied to attorneys’ fees and additional damages under California law. That matter remains pending before the judge and, notably, the filing reportedly states that neither side will be allowed to appeal the final ruling once it is issued.
The fallout from the case has already had a massive impact on public perception surrounding everyone involved, especially as fans continue dissecting every statement and development online. What began as anticipation for a bestselling book adaptation ultimately evolved into one of the entertainment industry’s most contentious legal showdowns in recent memory.
Now, even with the trial off the calendar, it’s clear the conversation surrounding It Ends With Us — and the fractures left behind from the film’s production — isn’t disappearing anytime soon.
