{"id":36787,"date":"2026-05-05T20:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/?p=36787"},"modified":"2026-05-05T20:33:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:33:13","slug":"what-unsealed-court-documents-reveal-about-the-lively-baldoni-legal-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/?p=36787","title":{"rendered":"What unsealed court documents reveal about the Lively-Baldoni legal saga"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"anchor-6b1c48\" class=\"body-graf\">Newly unsealed documents in the legal battle between \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d co-stars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/pop-culture\/pop-culture-news\/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-reach-settlement-ends-us-case-rcna258456\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni<\/a> pull back the curtain on a monthslong courtroom clash that riveted the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n<p><button class=\"styles_subscriptionCTA__LOUeY\" id=\"subscriptionCTA\" type=\"button\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"styles_textWrapper__vxvko\">\n<p class=\"styles_text__daaVB styles_textLarge__qlzwu\">Subscribe to read this story ad-free    <\/p>\n<p class=\"styles_text__daaVB\">Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/rockcms\/2026-01\/arrow-f55fa5.svg\" alt=\"arrow\" class=\"styles_arrow__tnruW\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/button><\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-254de1\" class=\"body-graf\">The documents, entered into the public record shortly after Lively and Baldoni <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/pop-culture\/pop-culture-news\/justin-baldoni-blake-lively-surprise-settlement-how-it-came-together-rcna343558\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reached a settlement deal<\/a>, provide a window into the inner workings of the case, the slate of potential witnesses, and a cache of prospective evidence. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-ce1fc1\" class=\"body-graf\">Baldoni\u2019s representatives said Tuesday they had no additional comment on the unsealed files. Lively\u2019s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-246c00\" class=\"body-graf\">The settlement heads off a trial that would have revolved around Lively\u2019s allegation that Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, orchestrated a retaliatory smear campaign after she spoke out about sexual harassment she claimed she experienced on the set of \u201cIt Ends With Us,\u201d which Baldoni also directed. She said the smear campaign harmed her career prospects. Baldoni has vehemently denied Lively\u2019s allegations. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-7a3d43\" class=\"body-graf\">Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"anchor-4555e3\" class=\"body-heading\"><strong>The depositions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p id=\"anchor-506d14\" class=\"body-graf\">The packets of PDFs unsealed Monday include transcripts of depositions taken in the lead-up to a potential trial. The roster of potential expert witnesses included people Lively\u2019s lawyers believed could illustrate the impact of Baldoni\u2019s alleged smear campaign, including USC marketing professor Dina Mayzlin and Hollywood lawyer Richard Marks.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-b335eb\" class=\"body-graf\">Lively\u2019s lawyers also took depositions from veterans of the film industry, including Vivian Baker, a makeup artist who has long worked with Lively and her husband, \u201cDeadpool\u201d actor Ryan Reynolds, and received a credit on \u201cIt Ends With Us.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"anchor-b900e1\" class=\"body-heading\"><strong>The author<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p id=\"anchor-b608b3\" class=\"body-graf\">The cache of documents features <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/28094632-hoover-deposition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a 19-page transcript<\/a> of a deposition from Colleen Hoover, the bestselling author of \u201cIt Ends With Us.\u201d The story follows flower shop owner Lily Bloom (played in the film adaptation by Lively) and her romantic relationship with abusive neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-d15988\" class=\"body-graf\">Hoover told Lively\u2019s lawyers that she did not believe she had significant creative \u201cinput\u201d during the production of the movie, even though she was credited as an executive producer. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I \u2014 I could give input because I was just unaware what was happening,\u201d Hoover said in part, according to the deposition transcript.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-31672f\" class=\"body-graf\">Representatives for Hoover did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"anchor-b4e84a\" class=\"body-heading\"><strong>The brand deals<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p id=\"anchor-df2e75\" class=\"body-graf\">The files contain dozens of pages detailing Lively\u2019s income from partnerships with various luxury brands and companies, including roughly $7.5 million for appearances in advertisements for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/28094635-lively-loreal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the cosmetic giant L\u2019Oreal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-262a2b\" class=\"body-graf\">The documents also show that Lively was contractually set to receive roughly $360,000 for wearing Charlotte Tilbury makeup at the 2022 Met Gala; around $200,000 from Tiffany; and some $250,000 for her participation in a 2024 event backed by Meta\u2019s Facebook.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-7bbe93\" class=\"body-graf\">The deal memos are heavily redacted, making it difficult to discern precisely what promotional services Lively was contracted to perform, but most include her compensation.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"anchor-37111b\" class=\"body-heading\"><strong>The career fallout<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p id=\"anchor-90b089\" class=\"body-graf\">In pre-trial court filings, Lively\u2019s lawyers claimed her professional prospects were harmed by Baldoni\u2019s alleged smear campaign, with the fallout extending from her Hollywood acting career to the commercial performance of her skin care line, Blake Brown.<\/p>\n<section class=\"inline-video inline-video--in-body inline-video--vertical-video\" data-testid=\"inline-video\" id=\"anchor-437901\">\n<div class=\"inline-video__background\">\n<div class=\"inline-video__player\">\n<div class=\"inline-video__badge-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"subscriber-badge styles_subscriberBadge__Lc_nV inline-video__subscriber-badge\" data-testid=\"subscriber-badge\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/rockcms\/2026-01\/asterisk-43f04b.svg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"styles_text__CtcQ0\">FOR<\/span><span class=\"styles_text__CtcQ0\">SUBSCRIBERS<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"inline-video-gate\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Subscribe to watch this video\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-360w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/mpx\/2704722219\/2026_05\/vert_thumb.00_05_36_12.Still003-5dokdv.jpg\" alt=\"How the Lively-Baldoni dispute impacted both actors\u2019 careers\" class=\"inline-video__thumbnail\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-video__placeholder-info\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-video__placeholder-title\">How the Lively-Baldoni dispute impacted both actors\u2019 careers<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"styles_caret__Aqe2z icon icon-play\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-testid=\"caret\"\/><span data-testid=\"card-duration\">01:32<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p id=\"anchor-04156a\" class=\"body-graf\">At least one of the documents puts forward an approximate dollar figure for a slice of Lively\u2019s livelihood. The retail giant Target expected that Blake Brown sales would hit around $821,000 a week in 2024, but the line\u2019s skin care products significantly underperformed projections, according to a report.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-d02717\" class=\"body-graf\">The same report mentions the beauty brand \u201cwent dark\u201d on social media between Aug. 14 and Sept. 9, just 10 days after launch, due to negative sentiment about Lively brewing online. Negative comments about her more than doubled around the same time, according to a social media sentiment tracker cited by the report.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"anchor-f3a059\" class=\"body-heading\"><strong>The settlement<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p id=\"anchor-062a45\" class=\"body-graf\">In a joint statement announcing the settlement Monday, both sides in the case described the movie adaptation of \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d as \u201ca source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-0af69b\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cRaising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors \u2014 and all survivors \u2014 is a goal that we stand behind,\u201d lawyers for Baldoni and Lively said in a statement on their behalf.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-1ac2af\" class=\"body-graf\">The statement went on to \u201cacknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-c875bb\" class=\"endmark body-graf\">\u201cWe remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/pop-culture\/pop-culture-news\/unsealed-court-documents-reveal-lively-baldoni-legal-saga-rcna343692\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Newly unsealed documents in the legal battle between \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni pull back the curtain on a monthslong courtroom clash that riveted the entertainment industry. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The documents, entered into the public record shortly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-conditions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36787"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36789,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36787\/revisions\/36789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pickbydoc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}