Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni say NO to mediation and reveal why there will be no deal

Mediation is off the table for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, the two Hollywood stars embroiled in a complicated and public legal feud. The case is set to begin in March 2026, but both legal teams are already requesting evidence and preparing their cases.

Lively’s allegations against Baldoni are serious, centering on claims that he created a hostile workplace on the set where he directed a film starring Lively. The movie in question, “It Ends With Us,” based on the novel by Colleen Hoover, is a story of domestic abuse and survival.

Lively alleges that she was sexually harassed by Baldoni and Jamey Heath, the CEO of the production company that Baldoni founded, Wayfarer. Filming did eventually resume, with Lively providing what she claims are topics Baldoni and members of his production team were to refrain from speaking about on-set. However, when the cast began to promote the movie leading up to and after its release in the summer, Lively alleges that Baldoni organized a coordinated social media campaign to ruin her reputation as retaliation and to cover up his alleged misdeeds.

Baldoni has maintained his innocence and filed his own lawsuits. The first is against The New York Times, which published a story about an alleged plan between Baldoni and his PR team to attack Lively through social media to undermine her allegations just after Lively had submitted a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department.

The second suit is against Blake Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and the couple’s publicist, Leslie Sloan, for defaming him, extorting him, and invading his privacy.

The latest on the case between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni

Mediation was presented as an option to settle the matter more privately, but Yahoo! News reported that the legal teams sent a joint letter to the judge stating that neither party was interested in mediation. The letter also made clear that both sides believe it is too early to begin negotiating a settlement that could avoid a trial.

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