• Five contractors have filed mechanics liens totaling $2,108,856.63 against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ Lewisboro, NY property.
• FlowCon Inc. (also known as Flower Construction) filed the largest single claim — over $1.35 million — for structural, electrical, and interior work.
• The couple bought the 110-acre South Salem estate through an LLC in 2018 with plans for a 14,500-sq-ft main home, pool house, gym, and more.
• Construction reportedly stalled in late 2025 or early 2026, with no lien releases or discharge filings on record.
• The news comes fresh off Blake’s legal settlement with It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni, which involved no money changing hands.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have spent years building their dream — a private, sprawling sanctuary in Upstate New York that Blake once called “the most beautiful place in the world.” Right now, that dream is sitting unfinished, and the bills are piling up.

According to Westchester County filings obtained by the Daily Mail, five contractors and subcontractors have filed mechanics liens against the couple’s 110-acre property in Lewisboro, New York, claiming a combined $2,108,856.63 in unpaid work. TMZ has also confirmed the existence of the liens. The filings were made in April, and as of now, no lien releases or discharge filings appear on record — meaning, as far as anyone can tell, those debts haven’t been settled.

The biggest claim comes from FlowCon Inc., also known as Flower Construction, which is seeking more than $1.35 million alone — well over half the total debt. The company reportedly handled major phases of the build: framing, plumbing, electrical installation, HVAC systems, drywall, masonry, waterproofing, painting, and custom wood detailing. That’s not contractor work. That’s essentially building a house from the inside out.

The remaining four subcontractors filed claims tied to copper roofing, drainage infrastructure, carpentry and trim work, steel fabrication across multiple buildings on the estate, and excavation and septic system installation. Taken together, the liens paint a picture of a massive, high-end construction project that got very far along — and then stopped.

A Vision Eight Years in the Making

Blake and Ryan quietly purchased the South Salem property — about 60 miles north of Manhattan — through an LLC back in 2018, eventually acquiring several surrounding parcels to create what was envisioned as a true family compound. The plans were ambitious: a 14,500-square-foot main residence, a 3,306-square-foot pool house, a separate gym, stables, barns, geothermal heating and cooling systems, and a swimming pool. They reportedly never intended to sell off the additional land — this was meant to be permanent.

At a 2022 planning board hearing, Blake reportedly called the local community “heaven” and said the couple was “desperate to get shovels in the ground and be living on this land.” She spoke passionately about preserving the history of the property, creating an environmentally conscious retreat, and raising their four children there — a place where, as she reportedly promised local officials, “our neighbors will never see us.”

Construction did eventually begin, and was reportedly still ongoing as recently as late 2025. Then it stopped. Whether workers walked off the job over unpaid invoices or the couple paused the project themselves isn’t clear, but the liens suggest the former played at least some role.

Questions About Finances — and the Baldoni Battle

The timing is impossible to ignore. Blake spent much of the past year embroiled in a very public and very expensive legal war with It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni. The feud — which involved allegations of sexual harassment, a defamation countersuit from Baldoni, and a PR crisis that dominated Hollywood headlines — ultimately ended in a settlement earlier this month. In a joint statement reported by Variety, both sides said they hoped the resolution would bring “closure” and allow everyone to “move forward constructively and in peace.”

“The end product — the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life,” the statement read. “Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind.”

The settlement included no money changing hands. But the legal fees on both sides were reportedly enormous — and Blake is still pursuing reimbursement of those costs under a California law that protects individuals who report sexual misconduct from retaliatory lawsuits. That case is still pending, with Baldoni’s lawyers arguing she isn’t entitled to the protections because the alleged harassment took place primarily in New Jersey. A judge has yet to rule.

None of that directly explains $2 million in contractor liens. But the combination — a stalled luxury build, mounting unpaid claims, and an ongoing legal fight over attorneys’ fees — has people asking questions about what’s really going on financially behind closed doors for one of Hollywood’s most carefully curated couples.

Neither Blake Lively nor Ryan Reynolds has publicly addressed the contractor debt claims.

The post Blake & Ryan’s Dream Mansion Stalled With $2M Debt appeared first on Cream.

• Norwegian entertainment reporter Kjersti Flaa says her 2016 interview with Blake Lively left her “traumatized” and “in shock”
• Flaa — who was subpoenaed in the Lively vs. Baldoni case — says she’s “disappointed” the settlement means she won’t testify
• It Ends With Us actor Adam Mondschein is also speaking out, disputing Lively’s claims about the film’s birthing scene
• Ryan Reynolds posted a Mother’s Day tribute calling Lively “fearless” as she attempts to move on publicly
• Sources say Justin Baldoni is weighing a tell-all, suggesting the drama is far from truly over

Nearly a decade after it happened, that Blake Lively interview is still causing damage — and the journalist at the center of it wants people to know exactly how bad it really was.

Kjersti Flaa, the Norwegian entertainment reporter whose 2016 sit-down with Lively became one of the most talked-about moments of the entire It Ends With Us legal saga, is speaking out in detail about what went down that day — and she’s not holding back. “It was a really traumatizing experience,” Flaa told Page Six in an exclusive interview Monday. “I was just in shock.”

The interview in question took place during the press tour for Café Society, where Flaa was sitting down with Lively — who was pregnant at the time — and co-star Parker Posey. When Flaa congratulated Lively on her “little bump,” the actress fired back with a pointed, “Congrats on your little bump.” Lively was pregnant. Flaa was not. And Flaa has since revealed that she is unable to have children, making the comment land even harder than it appeared on camera.

It didn’t stop there. When Flaa tried to pivot and ask about the film’s costumes, Lively shot back, “Everyone wants to talk about the clothes, but I wonder if they would ask the men about the clothes” — and then proceeded to turn to Posey and have a full conversation between themselves, effectively freezing Flaa out of her own interview.

“I was just sitting there like, ‘Oh,'” Flaa recalled. “I didn’t really understand all that. And then when I asked the next question about the costumes, [they] turned to each other and just ignored me. That’s when I started feeling like, ‘Oh my God. They’re actually doing this.'”

Why Flaa Didn’t Walk Out

Flaa said she was acutely aware of the power dynamic at play and felt she couldn’t react — even as the situation became increasingly humiliating.

“As a journalist, you always have to take the high road,” she said. “So when I was sitting there, I couldn’t react to what they were doing to me in a sense of like leaving or talking back to them or doing anything like that, because I knew if I did, then I would never get opportunities like that again.”

The fear of being blacklisted was real. “Not that I necessarily wanted to interview Blake again, but, you know, she has a publicist, and then they talk and then they blacklist you. That’s how it works, right?” Flaa said. “So I just sat there and then I started getting more and more frustrated and angry and upset and all these emotions because I was like, I couldn’t believe they were actually doing it.”

She added that she was “publicly humiliated” by the bump comment specifically — and that Lively never once reached out to make it right. “Blake had every opportunity to right this wrong because she clearly knew very well that this interview existed and got out there and nothing happened,” Flaa said.

From Viral Clip to Courtroom Subpoena

The interview sat relatively dormant for years before resurfacing in 2024 — right in the middle of the firestorm surrounding Lively’s lawsuit against It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni. Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni fired back with a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation, extortion, and orchestrating a smear campaign against him. Both sides denied wrongdoing.

Flaa was subpoenaed by Lively’s team, and Lively’s lawyers later moved to block Flaa from testifying entirely — arguing the jury would “draw adverse conclusions about her character” based on the viral clip. Baldoni’s team pushed back, calling Flaa’s testimony “highly relevant” and denying any role in amplifying the video.

Flaa says she had receipts. “I was the only person who had access to the analytics and could see what really happened to that video,” she told the Daily Mail. “YouTube shows you where all the traffic is coming from. I was going to reveal a lot of things that I’m sure they were not happy about.”

She never got the chance. On May 4, Lively and Baldoni reached a last-minute settlement — two weeks before the case was set to go to trial. No money changed hands. A source told Page Six that both the magistrate and the judge had been encouraging the parties to reach an agreement to avoid what was shaping up to be a long, drawn-out trial.

Flaa is openly disappointed. “I was looking forward to it. I was looking forward to telling my side of the story and support what I believe very strongly is the truth here,” she said. She also had a theory about why Lively pulled the plug: “She knew she had a weak case. I think she was advised by everyone to let it go. It would have been so humiliating for her to lose and you never want to look like a liar in front of a jury.”

For what it’s worth, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman made a similar argument, telling TMZ that Lively settled because she “was scared to take the witness stand” and that a trial “would have exposed her lies.” Lively’s legal team, meanwhile, called the settlement “a resounding victory,” arguing that by settling, Baldoni and the individual defendants now face personal liability for “abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate” their client.

The scorecard heading into settlement was complicated. Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit was tossed in June 2025. Last month, the judge threw out 10 of Lively’s 13 allegations — including sexual harassment, conspiracy, and defamation. Lively’s team is now pursuing legal fees, though a judge recently rejected a request to file additional supporting documents before ruling on the matter.

The Birthing Scene Dispute

Flaa isn’t the only one stepping forward with a competing account of events. Adam Mondschein, the actor who played OBGYN Dr. Dunbar in It Ends With Us — and who is a longtime friend of Baldoni’s — is pushing back hard against Lively’s characterization of the film’s birthing scene.

In Lively’s complaint, she described the scene as a “violative birthing scene for which he cast a friend” and alleged that Mondschein’s “face and hands were in close proximity to her nearly nude genitalia,” calling it “invasive and humiliating.” She also implied Mondschein was unqualified for the role.

Mondschein, who holds a master’s in fine arts from UCLA and has at least ten acting credits on IMDb, takes serious issue with that. “She’s pretending to have a baby, but she’s fully covered,” he told Page Six. Lively was wearing a prosthetic belly, a hospital gown, and black shorts during filming. “There’s nothing to see. Nothing to look at,” he said.

As for what he was actually focused on? “I’m holding a real baby off screen, covered in raspberry jelly and cream cheese” before lifting the infant into frame. “Even in the scene that you see that made it into the film, you see me smiling at a baby. The cutest baby whose parents are there in the room with the crew.”

Mondschein also disputed that Lively had no power in the room that day. “She’s a producer. She inserted herself in every creative decision,” he said. “Nothing happened that she wasn’t in charge of. She came into the room as the most powerful person in the room. She is not a wilting flower. She is very confident and firm.”

He’s been defending Baldoni publicly across multiple platforms — including an appearance on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored — and told Page Six that Baldoni’s original intention in taking on the project was to shine a light on domestic violence. “He was going to usher forth her book to a whole new audience… he wanted these conversations about domestic violence, the responsibility that men have to have this conversation, not just the victims, not just the women. And so that was his whole drive.”

Sources close to Baldoni tell Radar Online that he’s now weighing a tell-all to share his side of the story publicly. Mondschein said his friend “really wants to tell his story, and he deserves to be heard.” Another source added, “Justin feels vindicated by how much of the case changed before settlement talks began.”

What Happens Next for Blake

Hours after the settlement was announced on May 4, Lively showed up at the Met Gala in a colorful archival Versace gown from 2006, carrying a custom Judith Leiber bag featuring her children’s artwork. The move raised eyebrows across the board.

Flaa, for one, was not impressed. “It’s mind-blowing to me that she would [attend the Met Gala despite everything going on],” she told the Daily Mail. “I think she wanted to clog the internet with stories about her at the Met Gala and what she was wearing, it was an attempt to try to drown all the negative news.” She went further: “In her reality, she still cannot believe that people don’t like her. That’s why she went to the Met Gala… She really truly believes this… that’s the tragic thing in all of this.”

Baldoni’s attorney Freedman also weighed in on the Gala appearance, telling Entertainment Tonight: “I don’t know that it was the wisest choice. If that’s what she needs to heal, then more power to her.”

Lively’s own attorney Sigrid McCawley pushed back on the criticism, telling ET that the appearance was deliberate and defiant. “That’s exactly what Blake is intent on doing. We wouldn’t want any woman in that position to be silenced. They should be out living their life,” McCawley said, adding that Lively “was incredibly brave to stand up for herself in that moment.”

Ryan Reynolds, who was in Bermuda competing in the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix with his BONDS Flying Roos SailGP team while Lively attended the Gala solo, made his feelings known the following Sunday with a Mother’s Day tribute on Instagram Stories. He shared photos of the two of them together — hugging in ponchos by a waterfall, sitting side by side in Adirondack chairs — and wrote: “I appreciate this mother beyond measure. She is kind. She is fearless. She’s the absolute love of my life — and to our four little kids, she’s the life of their love.”

Reynolds’s rep had previously told Puck that when it came to his wife, Reynolds “feels like he wasn’t angry enough” — and that he “passionately believes in and will stand up for the basic right to a safe workplace free of harassment and retaliation for his wife and others. Then, now, and always.”

As for Flaa, she’s not ruling out a Lively comeback — but she has a very specific prescription for it. “My advice to her would be to stay low for a couple of years if she wants a chance to come back and do anything in Hollywood again,” the reporter said. “She is toxic and right now the public is not ready to take her back.”

Lively and Posey’s reps did not respond to requests for comment.

The post Blake Lively Reporter Says She Was ‘Traumatized’ by 2016 Interview appeared first on Cream.

• Ryan Reynolds posted a glowing Mother’s Day tribute to Blake Lively on Instagram Stories, set to Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition”
• The tribute came one week after Lively settled her lawsuit against It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni on May 4
• Reynolds called Lively “fearless” and “the absolute love of my life” in text over photos of the couple
• Lively also shared her own tribute to her mother, Elaine Lively, in a separate heartfelt post
• Reynolds had previously told Today he had “never been more proud” of his wife during the lead-up to trial

Ryan Reynolds is not shy about letting the world know how he feels about Blake Lively — and this Mother’s Day, he made sure everyone heard it.

The Deadpool & Wolverine star, 49, took to his Instagram Stories on Sunday, May 10, to pour out a tribute to his wife of nearly 13 years. Over two photos of the couple together, set to the soaring notes of Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition,” Reynolds wrote: “I appreciate this mother beyond measure. She is kind. She is fearless. She’s the absolute love of my life — and to our four little kids, she’s the life of their love.”

That last line alone. Reynolds and Lively share daughters James, 11, Inez, 9, and Betty, 6, and son Olin, 2.

A Moment of Celebration After a Long Battle

The timing of Reynolds’ post wasn’t lost on anyone. It came just one week after Lively, 38, reached an out-of-court settlement with It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, 42, on May 4 — days before their trial was set to begin on May 18.

Lively had filed a lawsuit against Baldoni on December 31, 2024, alleging sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, and an orchestrated smear campaign against her. Baldoni denied her claims and filed a countersuit of his own, which was later dismissed. By the time settlement talks concluded, the case had been significantly narrowed — a federal judge had dismissed several of Lively’s claims, including the sexual harassment allegation, leaving primarily retaliation and contract-related claims on the table.

Rachael Bennett, a certified family law specialist and senior attorney at Sullivan Law & Associates, told Us Weekly that the last-minute timing was no accident. “The risk of putting the outcome in a jury’s hands becomes too dangerous for at least one, and here, probably both sides,” she explained. “The settlement came right after the judge dismissed the majority of Blake Lively’s claims… That changes the leverage dramatically once those bigger emotional claims are gone.”

Lively and Baldoni released a joint statement through their attorneys acknowledging the resolution. “The end product — the movie It Ends With Us — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life,” the statement read. “We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard… It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”

Reynolds Had Already Made His Feelings Clear

Reynolds’ Mother’s Day post wasn’t the first time he’d publicly stood in Lively’s corner. Back on April 19, he appeared on Today and told journalist Willie Geist simply: “I’ve never in my life been more proud of my wife.” He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to.

Sunday’s Instagram tribute felt like a quieter, more personal extension of that same energy — less about the lawsuit, more about the woman.

Blake’s Own Tribute Was Just as Beautiful

Reynolds’ post came shortly after Lively shared her own Mother’s Day tribute — this one to her mom, Elaine Lively. The Simple Favor star wrote over a photo of her mother: “Happy Mother’s Day to the woman who chooses joy, every day, no matter what. The strength and defiance in that is something I’ll always appreciate, especially the older I get.”

She continued: “She isn’t just beautiful, she creates beauty, with her hands, her stories, her playfulness, her creativity, her incredible ingenuity and her love. I’m so grateful, now and forever to have been shaped by your heart full of love, optimism and magic. You make the ordinary extraordinary. I love you. Thank you mama.”

Reynolds and Lively first met in 2010 on the set of Green Lantern and married on September 9, 2012. Whatever the past several months have looked like behind closed doors, Sunday felt like a family choosing to exhale — and celebrate the people holding them together.

The post Ryan Reynolds’ Sweet Mother’s Day Tribute to Blake Lively appeared first on Cream.

• Blake Lively attended the 2026 Met Gala hours after settling her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios on May 4
• Her attorney Sigrid McCawley says the appearance was about “standing up and not being silenced”
• Both sides are claiming victory — Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman says she settled because she was “scared” to testify
• The legal fight isn’t fully over: Lively is pursuing damages and attorneys’ fees under a California anti-retaliation law
• Reports suggest Taylor Swift has distanced herself from Lively, and Anna Wintour had to intervene to get her into the Met Gala

Blake Lively showed up to the 2026 Met Gala in an archival Atelier Versace gown dripping in custom Lorraine Schwartz diamonds — and she did it the same day she settled one of the messiest celebrity lawsuits in recent memory. Now, her lawyer is explaining exactly why.

Attorney Sigrid McCawley addressed the timing directly in a video interview with Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, May 7, pushing back on the idea that the appearance was a calculated PR move. “Blake is focused on exposing the digital retaliation campaign here that was weaponized against her,” McCawley said. “As part of that, it’s about standing up and not being silenced, right? Moving on with your life, moving forward, and that’s exactly what Blake is intent on doing. She was incredibly brave to stand up for herself in that moment and for others in the workplace and she’s going to continue to pave that path of being really bold and brave in this moment.”

Lively, 38, and Justin Baldoni, 42, announced their settlement on May 4 — two weeks before their case was set to go to trial on May 18. The dispute had been building since December 2024, when Lively sued Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of their 2024 film It Ends With Us, as well as orchestrating a smear campaign against her after she raised those concerns. Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a $400 million defamation countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds — a suit that was dismissed entirely by Judge Lewis J. Liman in June 2025. Last month, the judge also dismissed 10 of Lively’s original 13 claims, including every sexual harassment charge, classifying her as an independent contractor rather than an employee during filming.

The joint statement released by both sides struck a measured tone after nearly two years of open warfare. “The end product — the movie It Ends With Us — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life,” it read. “We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.”

Both Sides Are Claiming the Win

The ink wasn’t even dry before both legal teams were racing to frame the outcome on their own terms.

Lively’s attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson called it “a resounding victory,” pointing to the fact that Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties waived their right to appeal and acknowledged that Lively’s concerns “deserved to be heard.” “By admitting that Ms. Lively’s concerns ‘deserved to be heard,’ the defendants have ended once and for all the fiction that Ms. Lively ‘fabricated’ claims of sexual harassment and retaliation,” they said in a statement. “From day one, Blake Lively’s mission was clear: expose and hold accountable those who weaponize smear campaigns and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors. That mission continues.”

Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman wasn’t having it. In a statement, he said the settlement was “a win and total victory” for the Wayfarer parties, noting that the court had already thrown out 10 of Lively’s 13 claims before she “voluntarily dismissed the rest.” “In our view, they settled because they knew they were going to lose in court,” Freedman said.

Then Freedman went further — significantly further. Speaking to TMZ, he claimed the real reason Lively settled was fear. “Part of the reason Blake settled is because she was scared to take the witness stand at trial. She did not want to face cross-examination by anyone because that would require her to tell the truth,” he said. He alleged she lied about instructing Sony to destroy the dailies and lied about telling It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover to unfollow Baldoni — a claim he said Hoover herself confirmed in her deposition. “Bottom line,” he added, “Blake filed a claim for $300 million and she ended up with nothing. If this is a resounding victory, what does a defeat look like?”

Lively’s team fired back in four words: “I guess he’s no longer ‘ecstatic’ about the settlement” — a pointed reference to comments Freedman had made earlier praising the deal.

In a separate Entertainment Tonight interview, Freedman was asked about Lively’s subsequent move to seek additional damages and didn’t hold back. “I think it’s impossible for Ms. Lively to take responsibility for any part of her actions,” he said. “If one can’t see themselves, one can’t honestly, realistically, look at their part in things, it makes for a troubled existence.”

Baldoni himself confirmed he did not sign a nondisclosure agreement as part of the settlement — a detail that leaves the door open for him to speak publicly. According to insiders, he’s already planning a major sit-down interview and is allegedly working on a book about what happened behind the scenes during the production. He has also relocated from California to Nashville with his wife Emily and their children.

The Legal Battle Has a Round Two

Despite the settlement announcement, this case is not over.

Court documents filed May 7 show Lively is now pursuing damages and attorneys’ fees under California Civil Code Section 47.1 — a 2023 law passed in the wake of the #MeToo movement specifically designed to protect sexual misconduct accusers from retaliatory defamation lawsuits. Because Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against her was dismissed, Lively’s team argues she qualifies as the “prevailing defendant” and is entitled to compensatory damages tripled, punitive damages, and legal fees.

“What this law does is it focuses on providing survivors with a path to be able to not be silenced, to go back after the person who wrongfully sues them for defamation,” McCawley explained to ET. Her team also addressed the widely reported claim that the two sides collectively spent around $60 million — with some insiders putting the real figure north of $100 million — on the litigation. “Certainly any battle like this is expensive. And that’s why laws like the law that’s been passed in California that she’s proceeding under are so important,” McCawley said. “Most people can’t afford to undertake this kind of significant battle. She knows that that’s a privilege.”

Freedman called the damages request “more nonsense” and indicated Baldoni won’t be writing a check voluntarily. “We’ll see how the judge rules on that,” he said. Both parties have waived the right to appeal that specific ruling once it’s issued, meaning whatever the judge decides is final.

Sexual harassment attorney Megan Thomas, who was not involved in the case, offered some outside perspective on what the settlement actually means. “After a settlement involving celebrities, the public often thinks one party received a large sum of money or a party settled because they had a weak case. This is often not the reality,” she told OK Magazine. “In a case like this, we have two monied parties, so reputation takes precedence over a monetary settlement.” Thomas noted the carefully worded joint statement — particularly the acknowledgment that Lively’s concerns “deserved to be heard” — likely reflects a negotiated reputational outcome for the actress.

The Met Gala Return — and the Messy Road to Get There

Lively’s appearance at the Met Gala was striking on its own. She last attended in 2022, when she co-chaired alongside Ryan Reynolds, Regina King, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. This year she came solo, seated at Anna Wintour’s table inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, wearing the spring 2006 Versace archival gown she’d reportedly had ready ahead of time.

But getting through the door wasn’t as seamless as it looked. According to reporting from Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack, several prominent fashion houses declined to dress her for the event, with insiders citing concerns about brand association. “This wasn’t about designers being afraid of looking mean,” one source said. “It was about not wanting to look like they were backing a mean girl.” Another added, “Blake’s brand has absolutely collapsed in certain fashion circles. A few years ago, having Blake wear your gown was considered a huge win. Now some designers think it hurts more than it helps.”

Wintour reportedly stepped in personally, reassuring designers that Lively remained in good standing within the fashion world and urging them not to distance themselves from her. “Once Anna publicly backed Blake, the resistance softened immediately,” a source said. “Without her, Blake probably doesn’t get through the door in the same way.”

Once she was there, her interaction with the team managing her 13-foot train went viral — and not entirely in her favor. A clip showed Lively directing handlers on how to arrange the gown on the steps, and viewers were sharply divided. Body language expert Dr. Lillian Glass was blunt in her assessment: “Her appearance at the Met Gala did her more damage as she angrily admonished the gentlemen who were helping her with her gown on the steps. It reinforced that she was indeed the ‘mean girl’ that people perceived her as throughout the lawsuit.” Supporters, meanwhile, called it nothing more than a woman directing her own event styling.

Ryan Reynolds, the Marriage Rumors, and Taylor Swift

The day after the settlement was announced, Reynolds posted a selfie with Lively on his Instagram Story — the two leaning into each other, Lively’s hand in his hair, both smiling. He set it to Millie Jackson’s “Here You Come Again.” It was quiet, but it landed.

The post came amid swirling reports that strain in their marriage had played a role in Lively’s decision to settle. An insider told Rob Shuter’s Substack: “The realization hit her all at once. She had already lost too much — professionally, personally, publicly. The one thing she refused to lose was her marriage.” Reynolds’s team has not commented on those claims.

Then there’s Taylor Swift. The friendship between Lively and the pop star became strained after Swift was name-dropped repeatedly in court documents — including text messages in which Lively referenced having “a few dragons” who would defend her, widely understood as a nod to Swift and Reynolds. Unsealed texts also showed Swift agreeing to hype changes Lively made to the It Ends With Us script “even without reading it” and calling Baldoni a “b-tch.” Swift’s representatives maintained she had no involvement with the film beyond licensing one of her songs.

According to sources close to the situation, Lively is optimistic the friendship can be repaired now that the legal chaos has settled. “Blake genuinely believes there’s still a path back,” one insider told Shuter’s Substack. “Now that the legal mess is over, she thinks the hardest part is behind her, and there’s real hope they can move forward.” She’s reportedly so confident that she already has a dress picked out for Swift’s anticipated wedding to Travis Kelce.

Sources close to Swift, however, suggest the singer isn’t there yet — and may not be inviting the Livelys at all. “They’re not invited. Period,” one source told Shuter. “Taylor wants a drama-free day and no longer trusts Blake or Ryan.” Swift has stayed publicly silent on all of it.

Baldoni’s friend and It Ends With Us co-star Adam Mondschein, speaking to Us Weekly, captured the mood on his side of the aisle: “It’s the bittersweetness of having this part of it let go. It’s a conflicted time. It feels like that, but the game’s not over.”

He’s probably right about that.

The post Blake Lively’s Lawyer Defends Her Met Gala Return After Baldoni Settlement appeared first on Cream.

• Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled their It Ends With Us lawsuits Monday, but one key claim remains unresolved
• Lively is pursuing attorneys’ fees, punitive damages, and treble damages under a California law protecting sexual harassment accusers
• Baldoni waived his right to appeal the court’s earlier dismissal of his $400 million defamation suit against Lively
• Lively’s lawyers call the settlement a “resounding victory”; Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman says the real win happened when her harassment claims were dismissed
• A court filing reveals Wayfarer cofounder Steve Sarowitz threatened to spend $100 million to “ruin the lives” of Lively and her family

The settlement between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni may have ended the headline-grabbing trial everyone was bracing for — but it didn’t end the legal battle. Not quite.

Court documents filed Thursday reveal that Lively preserved one significant claim when the two sides reached their deal Monday: a motion for attorneys’ fees and damages under California Civil Code Section 47.1, a 2024 law specifically designed to protect sexual harassment accusers from retaliatory defamation suits. That motion, filed last September, was the one piece of the sprawling legal feud left untouched by the settlement — and it could still carry enormous financial consequences for Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.

Under the California statute, Lively is seeking attorneys’ fees, litigation costs, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and treble damages — meaning certain financial awards could automatically be tripled. Her team is characterizing Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit against her as “the prototypical suit” the California Legislature intended to deter when it passed the law. And because Baldoni waived his right to appeal Judge Lewis Liman’s earlier ruling dismissing that defamation case, the judgment is final — clearing one of the key legal hurdles Lively needed to clear before pursuing the fee award.

What Lively’s Team Is Actually Arguing

Lively’s lawyers, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, came out swinging Thursday, calling the settlement “a resounding victory for Blake Lively.” In their statement, they argued that by agreeing to language in the joint settlement statement acknowledging that Lively’s concerns “deserved to be heard,” Baldoni’s side effectively conceded that she had a reasonable basis for her claims — which is precisely what the California law requires.

“Justin Baldoni and every individual defendant now face personal liability for abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate Ms. Lively,” Gottlieb and Hudson wrote. “And by admitting that Ms. Lively’s concerns ‘deserved to be heard,’ the defendants have ended once and for all the fiction that Ms. Lively ‘fabricated’ claims of sexual harassment and retaliation.”

Attorney Sigrid McCawley, who also represents Lively, framed the ongoing motion in even broader terms. “This is really a space where she’s been able to do some great good for survivors, and she wants to continue that work,” McCawley told Variety. “This is about so much more to her.”

McCawley added: “This was a horrific thing she had to live through, and she’s been so brave. This is really the icing on the cake in so many ways.”

Lively is also said to be advocating for the Speak Your Truth Act, a pending New York State Legislature bill that would create a mirror version of the California law — a sign that her team sees this fight as extending well beyond her own case.

Baldoni’s Team Isn’t Buying It

Baldoni’s lead attorney, Bryan Freedman, has been making the media rounds since Monday’s settlement announcement — including a series of YouTube appearances in which he’s called the deal a clear win for his client. His position: the real victory came on April 2, when Judge Liman dismissed Lively’s sexual harassment claims along with nine others.

“This case started with her seeking $300 million and seeking a sexual harassment claim against Justin Baldoni and Jamie Heath,” Freedman told Variety. “On April 2 that was gone… That’s when the victory happened. I’m not sure what we’re arguing about at this point.”

Baldoni’s team has also argued that the California law shouldn’t apply at all, since the alleged conduct occurred in New York and New Jersey — not California. Lively’s attorneys counter that her original administrative complaint was filed with the California Department of Civil Rights, which they say brings the statute into play. Freedman, for his part, was dismissive of what comes next. “This is just a ministerial function of whether someone is going to get fees or not,” he said. “My assumption would be that Judge Liman has much more important things on the docket than holding an evidentiary hearing.”

The Numbers — and a Shocking Quote From Wayfarer’s Financier

The scope of what’s still at stake is hard to overstate. Both sides assembled sprawling legal teams over the course of the litigation, with many of their attorneys billing well over $1,000 an hour. There were nearly 1,500 docket entries in Lively’s case alone. Legal expenses on both sides are believed to run into the tens of millions of dollars. Lively’s team says she expects to seek a “multimillion dollar reward” just to recover her fees.

Compounding the financial picture: a separate lawsuit filed by one of Wayfarer’s insurers, Harco National Insurance, is seeking a court order declaring it has no obligation to cover legal fees. Baldoni has countersued three other insurers for breach of contract for refusing to pay litigation costs. Their combined policies carried at least $8 million in coverage.

And then there’s the quote that Lively’s team included in Thursday’s court filing — one that’s likely to follow this case for a long time. Wayfarer cofounder and billionaire financier Steve Sarowitz is quoted as saying he was “prepared to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family.” The filing also cites Sarowitz saying: “I will protect the studio like Israel protected itself from Hamas. There were 39,000 dead bodies. There will be two dead bodies when I’m done. Minimum.”

Lively’s attorneys cite the statement as evidence that Baldoni’s lawsuit was retaliatory from the start — exactly the kind of conduct Section 47.1 was designed to punish.

Both sides are expected to file additional briefs. If Judge Liman finds it warranted, he could schedule an evidentiary hearing to assess damages — one at which Lively herself might testify. The settlement dismissed the larger lawsuits with prejudice, meaning they can’t be refiled. But the final chapter of one of Hollywood’s most closely watched legal dramas is still being written, and it’s in Liman’s hands now.

The post Blake Lively’s Legal Fight Isn’t Over After Settlement appeared first on Cream.

• Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled their It Ends With Us lawsuit on May 4, just two weeks before trial was set to begin
• Neither party received any money in the settlement, and Lively got no public apology from Baldoni
• Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman called the outcome a “huge victory” and says his client is “ecstatic”
• The two sides spent a combined $60 million on legal fees — with attorneys being the only real financial winners
• The legal battle isn’t fully over: Lively still has a pending motion seeking attorney’s fees tied to Baldoni’s dismissed countersuit

Justin Baldoni is walking away from his legal war with Blake Lively with a smile on his face — literally. The It Ends With Us director and his wife Emily were spotted hand-in-hand at the Little Rad Market in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, just two days after the surprise settlement was announced — Baldoni’s first public appearance since the news broke. He was grinning, wearing a tan cardigan over a white tank top, matching baseball caps and light-wash jeans with his wife. The couple, who bought a $3.4 million Nashville property last summer after listing their Ojai, California home for $8.9 million, looked relaxed. Unbothered, even.

His lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has been even less subtle about how Team Baldoni feels. “I can’t talk about the terms of the settlement, but what I can tell you is that he is ecstatic,” Freedman told Extra. “Both Jamie and Justin are ecstatic at the results of this and the settlement itself. They are very pleased with where this ended up.”

On TMZ Live, Freedman went further, calling the outcome “a huge victory” and insisting his client technically never lost a thing. “Justin Baldoni didn’t settle a case, technically, if you think about it,” he said. “Justin Baldoni won the case on summary judgment. He was accused of sexual harassment. Those were claims that you cannot settle, that you have to go all the way, or his career is over. So you want to talk about if this is a victory or not — it’s a huge victory.”

How It All Fell Apart — and Came Together

The saga started in December 2024 when Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni — her co-star and director on the 2024 romantic drama — of sexual harassment on set and orchestrating a smear campaign against her through his Wayfarer Studios production company. She alleged the campaign had cost her up to $300 million in lost earnings and damaged her reputation, including her alcohol brand Betty Booze. Internal emails later unsealed as part of the case showed real consequences: a Kroger VP reportedly told Betty Booze reps there was “a negative taste in Kroger’s mouth” following Lively’s press tour, and a Princess Cruises executive texted that their “legal ethics and compliance committee” was “spooked” by the headlines.

Baldoni denied every allegation and countersued in January 2025, filing a $400 million defamation suit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane. He also separately sued the New York Times for defamation over its initial reporting. Both of those suits were dismissed — the countersuit against Lively in June 2025, the NYT case not long after.

Then, in April, the case against Baldoni took a major turn. Judge Lewis Liman threw out 10 of Lively’s 13 claims — including all allegations of sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy. The judge ruled that Lively had been working as an independent contractor rather than an employee, which meant she couldn’t bring harassment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Only three claims survived to trial: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation. Lively posted on Instagram at the time that she was “grateful” the remaining claims would go before a jury. Two weeks later, there was no jury. There was a settlement.

“Ten of the 13 claims were gone as a result of the summary judgment motion. Five individuals were out of the case,” Freedman explained to Extra. “You were left with a case that was really Blake Lively versus It Ends with Us, the movie LLC, the agency group and Wayfarer Studios — so it was a very different case at the point in time that we had those settlement discussions than ever was before.”

He also made clear that by the time settlement talks began, Baldoni himself wasn’t even technically a party to the case anymore. “Justin Baldoni is not a party, and that’s what gets forgotten a lot,” Freedman said. “If you’re looking at this settlement as a win or a loss or anything else, I think he just looks at it as a logical ending to a case that he was already out of.”

No Money, No Apology — and $60 Million in Legal Bills

According to multiple sources, Lively received zero compensation in the settlement. No money changed hands. And the joint statement released by both sides’ attorneys — Bryan Freedman, Ellyn Garofalo, Michael Gottlieb, and Esra Hudson — contained no apology from Baldoni whatsoever.

“The end product — the movie It Ends With Us — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life,” the statement read. “Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind. We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. We 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 online.”

Carefully worded. Notably free of any admission of wrongdoing.

Lively had reportedly brought in powerhouse litigation firm Susman Godfrey — known for securing a $425 million verdict against Google — in a final push before trial. It didn’t change the outcome. According to Page Six, both parties spent a combined $60 million on legal fees throughout the entire battle. The only people who clearly came out ahead financially were the lawyers themselves.

Legal experts who spoke to People didn’t mince words about the cost. “Millions,” said New York-based attorney Richard Schoenstein. “The combined legal expense is in the multiple millions. There are around 1,500 docket entries, countless lawyers on both sides, and these are high-priced firms billing well over $1,000 an hour.” Attorney Megan Thomas, founder of Megan Thomas Law, called it “an obscene amount.”

Both experts agreed the math simply didn’t add up for going to trial. “The case had been reduced — his counterclaims were dismissed, and her claims were substantially narrowed,” Schoenstein told People. “There wasn’t enough to gain from going to trial given the cost, which would have been extremely high, in the millions. There’s also the potential adverse PR impact of a trial, and all the evidence that would come out.” Thomas added that for two wealthy public figures, reputation likely mattered far more than any financial payout anyway.

One source close to the settlement told Page Six it was ultimately a last-minute push from the court itself: “The magistrate and the judge wanted to avoid this going to trial as it was going to be a long, drawn-out case, so they were encouraged to reach an agreement.” Mediation had actually begun as far back as February, but both sides left that session without a deal. This time, it stuck.

Reports from Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack also claimed that Ryan Reynolds had been quietly pushing Lively to settle for some time, seeing the reputational toll before she did. According to those sources, “the realization hit her all at once. She had already lost too much — professionally, personally, publicly. The one thing she refused to lose was her marriage.” Lively’s team has not commented on those claims.

Blake Showed Up to the Met Gala Hours Later

Whatever her feelings about the outcome, Lively wasn’t hiding. Just hours after the settlement was announced, she walked the 2026 Met Gala red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in an archival Atelier Versace gown from the Spring 2006 collection — pastel, structured, and unmistakably intentional. It was her first Met appearance since 2022.

She told Vogue the dress choice was deeply personal. “The gown is the color of both a sunrise and a sunset, representing so much beauty, warmth and the many layers and nuances in the closing of one day and the beginning of another,” she said. “Honoring the cycles of life and time in the most beautiful way.” Donatella Versace called her “stunning.” A source confirmed to Us Weekly that Lively was formally invited to the gala as a guest of Anna Wintour — not, as some social media rumors suggested, a paying attendee.

It’s Not Completely Over Yet

Despite the settlement, there’s still one loose thread. Lively has a pending motion seeking attorney’s fees and damages connected to Baldoni’s now-dismissed $400 million countersuit against her. She filed the motion under California’s Protecting Survivors from Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act — a 2023 law designed to shield sexual abuse accusers from retaliatory legal claims. Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit but didn’t rule on whether the California law applied, and invited Lively to renew the motion, which she did in September 2025. Baldoni’s team opposed it in October, arguing both that it violated his constitutional right to petition the courts and that the California law shouldn’t apply since most of the alleged conduct occurred in New York and New Jersey. A judge has yet to rule.

“Anyone purporting to confirm the terms of the confidential settlement at this point is misleading you,” a source told Variety. “More information about this confidential settlement will be on the court’s docket in the coming days.”

As for what comes next for Baldoni personally, Freedman offered a glimpse of his client’s mindset. “Justin wants to help people who have suffered similar experiences — when they felt like they were accused of something they did not do, and went and fought all the way and won in summary judgment,” he said. “I think what Justin wants to do is to help other people and to be a leader for helping other people in that way.”

One Hollywood insider offered a blunter read of where both stars stand in the industry right now. “I would struggle to hire both of them, but I would gamble on her,” the source told Page Six. “There’s a pretty big downside for both of them, but the upside is bigger for her.”

It Ends With Us is currently streaming on Netflix. If you or someone you know needs support, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233.

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