Blake Lively Is Reportedly Being Urged To Settle as Insider Warns ‘This Is Not the Win She Thinks It Is’
It’s straight to the courthouse for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni on May 18 after talks broke down for a settlement.
Judge Lewis Liman changed the course of the lawsuit on April 2 with a 162-page ruling that tossed out 10 out of 13 of Lively’s claims against her It Ends With Us co-star. Deadline reported on April 6 that Lively and Baldoni’s legal teams “were ordered to call in” with an update on a settlement. The opposing parties were unable to reach an agreement, and they are proceeding with the trial next month.
Still, the Gossip Girl star’s friends have reportedly been “begging her to settle,” according to Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack. “They think enough damage has already been done,” a source shared with Shuter. “This is not the win she thinks it is. The case is weaker now, not stronger.”
Lively’s sexual harassment claims against Baldoni were tossed, but the defamation and retaliation accusations remain. “None of these acts or occurrences provides the ‘substantial connection’ to California needed to sustain Lively’s sexual harassment claims,” Judge Liman wrote in his ruling.
But Lively proved in her Instagram post that she is standing firm in her battle. “I will never stop doing my part in fighting to expose the systems and people who seek to harm, shame, silence, and retaliate against victims,” she wrote.
She added, “The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I brought this case because of the pervasive RETALIATION I faced, and continue to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others. I hope the Court’s decision shows others that, as unfathomably painful as it is, you can speak up.”
Regardless of the trial’s outcome, the damage to both celebrities’ reputations, in the court of public opinion and in Hollywood, has been done.
“At some point, you have to ask what you’re still fighting for, and whether it’s worth it,” the insider told Shuter. “She can keep going,” the source says. “But she may lose a lot more before this is over.”
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