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The April 2026 ruling in Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us lawsuit described messages and expert analyses relevant to her allegation that people working for the film’s production company retaliated against her and helped fuel a smear campaign. The judge allowed some claims to proceed, but did not find at trial that a campaign occurred. Lively and the Wayfarer parties settled before trial in May 2026.
How the lawsuit began
Lively filed a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department on December 20, 2024, and sued in federal court on December 31. Her claims included sexual harassment, retaliation, contract-related claims, emotional distress and false light. Justin Baldoni denied harassing her or orchestrating a smear campaign, according to the Associated Press.
The dispute concerned the production of It Ends With Us, a film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name. The Wayfarer parties later filed their own lawsuit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and Vision PR, and added claims against The New York Times. In June 2025, the court dismissed the Wayfarer parties’ amended claims while allowing limited amendment; they did not file another amended complaint, according to the court’s August 2026 fee opinion.
What the court said about the alleged campaign
In its April 2, 2026 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recounted evidence Lively offered in support of her retaliation allegations. Among the messages described by the court was an August 4, 2024 exchange between Agency Group PR executive Jennifer Abel and publicist Melissa Nathan. Abel wrote that she had “reckless thoughts of wanting to plant pieces this week of how horrible Blake is to work with”; Nathan replied, “same.” In a message to Abel, Nathan also wrote, “you know we can bury anyone.”
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The opinion also described communications about boosting critical posts, seeding online discussion and coordinating media talking points. These were messages and other materials in the summary-judgment record. Their inclusion in the opinion does not by itself establish that every contemplated action took place or that every defendant was responsible for it. For the pretrial motions, the court construed disputed facts in Lively’s favor.
What the expert analyses estimated
The opinion summarized analyses submitted by Lively’s experts about online activity and public sentiment. These figures are litigation evidence, not court-verified statistics about the whole population:
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- Professor Aron Culotta of Tulane reported signs of artificial content manipulation in TikTok and Reddit activity.
- Professor Dina Mayzlin of USC described a change in the volume, content and sentiment of online material that she said was consistent with the campaign Lively alleged.
- Professor Ashlee Humphreys of Northwestern gave a “conservative” estimate of more than 176 million online impressions involving negative labels such as “bully,” “mean girl” and “tone deaf.”
- Humphreys also cited polling that showed a 30% increase in negative attitudes toward Lively between June and September 2024.
The estimates and analyses are described in the April 2026 court opinion. They should be understood as expert evidence submitted in the case, not as a finding that a specific number of people saw campaign material or changed their views because of it.
What the judge decided—and what remained unresolved
The April 2 opinion ruled on defendants’ motions for summary judgment and judgment on the pleadings. It dismissed most of Lively’s claims but allowed three to proceed at that stage:
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- A FEHA retaliation claim against Wayfarer and It Ends With Us Movie LLC.
- An aiding-and-abetting retaliation claim against The Agency Group PR.
- A contract-rider claim against It Ends With Us Movie LLC.
Allowing a claim to proceed is not a determination that it is true. The opinion was a pretrial ruling, not a jury verdict on whether the alleged campaign occurred or whether the defendants were liable. The ruling and its limits are set out in the court’s opinion.
Why the case ended without a trial
Lively and the Wayfarer parties settled in early May 2026, two weeks before the scheduled trial. Their joint statement said: “We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard.” It also expressed a shared commitment to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. The statement did not announce an admission of liability or a judicial finding that the alleged campaign had been proved. The settlement was reported by The Washington Post on May 4, 2026.
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What the August 2026 fee award means
On August 26, 2026, Judge Lewis J. Liman awarded Lively $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs under California Civil Code § 47.1. Her request had been about $8.04 million. The award was connected to her defense against defamation claims: the court had ruled she could seek fees under that provision, but not compensatory or punitive damages. It was not compensation for the alleged smear campaign and did not determine liability for it. The amounts and basis appear in the court’s fee opinion and were also reported by the Associated Press.
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