Justin Baldoni describes painful saga as he breaks silence on Blake Lively dispute

Actor Justin Baldoni and his wife, Emily, lamented trauma and pain endured by their family in their first public remarks after a long-running legal battle with co-star Blake Lively.

In May, Lively and Baldoni settled a lawsuit after the 2024 movie It Ends With Us, ending a contentious streak of accusations. The lawsuit alleged he sexually harassed her on set and launched a retaliatory smear campaign.

“There have been so many painful things that have been spoken into existence over the last couple years,” Baldoni said in a video this week.

A judge dismissed Lively’s harassment claims. They settled her retaliation allegations. Lively has said the case highlighted respectful treatment on set.

Baldoni and his wife smiled and chuckled through the nearly five-minute long video released on Instagram on Wednesday.

“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,” Baldoni said. “Because Lord knows we have.

Emily added: “There has been a lot of trauma for us to move through as a family, which also makes it hard to speak.”

She said the resolution of the case seemed the right time.

“The truth and the facts have spoken for themselves and here we are,” she said.

“We’ve had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand so many things, like how could something like this even happen? Let alone disguised as a fight for women.”

Lively filed the lawsuit against Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, in December 2024.

Baldoni filed a $400m (£298.5m) counter-lawsuit against Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, alleging defamation and extortion.