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  "path": "/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-trial-news/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-12T19:17:43.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.brit.co",
  "tags": [
    "It ends with us",
    "Pop culture",
    "Celebrity",
    "Justin Baldoni",
    "cast drama",
    "legal battle",
    "websites",
    "Taylor Swift",
    "NBC News",
    "_Deadline_ reports",
    "TMZ",
    "Deposely",
    "an interview",
    "published",
    "told",
    "holds firm",
    "**lawsuit was paused in early March**",
    "Blake Lively was also sued",
    "Brandon Sklenar",
    "Colleen Hoover",
    "claimed Taylor Swift was present",
    "Bryan Freedman revealed",
    "Sources told",
    "Blake Lively Literally Just Connected The CIA To Her _It Ends With Us_ Legal Battle"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nBlake Lively and **Justin Baldoni** just showed up to court in February, but were unable to reach a settlement. And while they were set to appear in court for their trial in March 2026 and bring the **_It Ends With Us_** chapter to a close, the trial just got delayed. What started as **cast drama** during the filming and promotion of the movie quickly turned into a **legal battle** between the actress and director, and in addition to the **websites** , text messages, and **Taylor Swift** of it all, it looks like Blake Lively will officially testify in the trial.\n\n* * *\n\n## Here's the latest update on Justin Baldoni & Blake Lively's trial and lawsuits amid the _It Ends With Us_ drama.\n\n### Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively couldn't reach a settlement.\n\n\n\n\nOn February 11, 2026, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni showed up for a court-ordered settlement conference. However, the co-stars were \"unsuccessful in reaching any kind of resolution\" (via **NBC News**). NBC also reports that even though the duo were both at court, they showed up separately and remained in different rooms while Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave moved between the parties.\n\nBut even though the actors didn't settle, Justin Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman said he's \"very hopeful\" because \"there's always a chance\" that a settlement could happen in the future.\n\n### When is the trial?\n\n\n\n\nJustin Baldoni and Blake Lively's trial has been postponed until May 18, 2026. It was originally scheduled for March 2026, but **_Deadline_ reports** that Judge Lewis Liman told Blake and Justin's teams that “as important as this case is...criminal trials take precedent.\"\n\n### Blake Lively gave her deposition — with Justin Baldoni present.\n\n\n\n\nBlake Lively has officially given her deposition ahead of her trial revolving around _It Ends With Us_...with Justin Baldoni in the room? Sources told **_TMZ_** that Blake's director and costar was present for the pre-trial testimony, held in New York City on July 31, 2025.\n\nReportedly, both Justin and Blake, as well as their attorneys, a court reporter, and a videographer were present for the deposition. According to **Deposely** , depositions are usually private since it's part of the pre-trial, so I'm really surprised Justin showed up.\n\n### Is Blake Livey testifying at her trial?\n\n\n\n\nBlake Lively's lawyer Mike Gottlieb confirmed in **an interview** with _People_ that the actress will take to the stand during the trial.\n\n\"The ultimate moment for a plaintiff's story to be told is at trial,\" he says. \"We expect that to be the case here [with Lively]. So we would, of course, expect her to be a witness at her trial. Of course she’s going to testify.”\n\n“There are individuals that were witnesses to or experienced misconduct that is relevant to Ms. Lively's claims [of inappropriate behavior on set],” Mike continues. “We expect their testimony, particularly about what took place on set, will come out through live witness testimony.”\n\nBut Mike Gottlieb didn't only talk about the trial — he also referenced the conversation surrounding the legal battle over the last 9 months. “We think there have been a lot of distractions put up to deflect attention from the retaliation campaign that was launched against her,” he says. “And we expect and hope that in discovery we'll have an opportunity to really focus on what we believe to be the core part of the case, which is that this retaliation campaign was launched against Ms. Lively for her having raised concerns about sexual harassment.”\n\n### What is Blake Lively suing Justin for?\n\n\n\n\nBlake Lively and Justin Baldoni are going to court after the actress alleged Justin sexually harassed her on the set of _It Ends With Us_. And in December 2024, the _New York Times_ **published** an editorial piece about the legal complaint Blake Lively filed on December 20, reporting that Justin, his publicists, and legal team members organized a smear campaign against her following the release of the movie.\n\nAlthough Justin's lawyer Bryan Freedman **told** _People_ Blake's claim is \"false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt,\" Blake's legal team **holds firm** that \"this is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation.\"\n\n“Sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry. A classic tactic to distract from allegations of this type of misconduct is to ‘blame the victim’ by suggesting that they invited the conduct, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied,\" the statement continues. \"Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and offender, and suggest that the offender is actually the victim. These concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious misconduct.\"\n\n### What is Blake Lively accused of?\n\n\n\n\nJustin filed his own defamation lawsuit on January 16, 2025 against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicists, and the _New York Times_ (the **lawsuit was paused in early March**). After the pause, a spokesperson for the _NYT_ told _E! News_ , \"We appreciate the court’s decision today, which recognizes the important First Amendment values at stake here. The court has stopped Mr. Baldoni from burdening The Times with discovery requests in a case that should never have been brought against.\"\n\n**Blake Lively was also sued** for $7 million by Jed Wallace, who she says was part of the alleged smear campaign, and in retaliation, Jed is looking for \"at least $7 million and a court order stating that he didn’t engage in harassment or retaliation against the actress,\" according to _The Hollywood Reporter_.\n\nAnd according to _Page Six_ , Jed is now claiming Blake asked a judge to \"authorize deposing him,\" and that since he wasn't involved in the campaign, the whole situation cost “millions of dollars in reputational harm with a projected loss to his company that exceeds another million.”\n\n### Who else is involved in the It Ends With Us drama?\n\n\n\n\nThe _It Ends With Us_ cast and author Colleen Hoover has been touched by the drama (**Brandon Sklenar** spoke out and **Colleen Hoover** deleted almost all her photos with Blake and Justin on Instagram), but it looks like Blake's BFF Taylor Swift will also be involved in the case.\n\nAfter Justin Baldoni **claimed Taylor Swift was present** for a pivotal disagreement in his working relationship with Blake, **Bryan Freedman revealed** the singer could be called on in the trial. And it looks like that's exactly what will happen.\n\n**Sources told** _TMZ_ that Bryan officially subpoenaed the popstar as a witness. But a spokespearson for Taylor Swift said in a statement that Tay \"never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see _It Ends With Us_ until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.\"\n\n**Check outBlake Lively Literally Just Connected The CIA To Her _It Ends With Us_ Legal Battle for more.**\n\n_This post has been updated._",
  "title": "Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Face Off in Court: Settlement Fails as ‘It Ends With Us’ Trial Looms"
}