The high-profile legal warfare between It Ends With Us co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively has entered a tense new phase over the financial aftermath of their court battle. Lawyers representing Baldoni, who both directed and starred alongside Lively in the 2024 romantic drama, have officially challenged her request for nearly $8 million in legal fees. In court documents filed overnight, Baldoni’s legal team pulled no punches, labeling Lively’s demand for approximately $7.5 million in attorney’s fees and over $500,000 in litigation expenses as “stunning” and an “extraordinary sum.” They have urged the court to either deny the request in its entirety or drastically reduce it, accusing Lively’s legal camp of drastically inflating the hours billed and attempting to recoup costs for claims that have already been thrown out of court.
At the heart of the dispute is the sheer volume of legal work Lively’s team claims to have performed. Baldoni’s lawyers pointed out that her request covers more than 7,000 hours of work across her entire legal team—a figure they describe as highly “over-inclusive.” To put this number in perspective, Baldoni’s team argued that Lively is asking for about 20 times the number of hours that courts have historically found reasonable in comparable defamation lawsuits. To color their argument with context, the defense cited a similar motion from The New York Times, which requested a comparatively modest $181,000 in fees after a judge dismissed a related suit Baldoni had filed against the newspaper. Baldoni’s lawyers assert that Lively is unfairly trying to bill him for work on various legal claims that were ultimately dismissed, either voluntarily by her own team or by a presiding judge.
Lively’s astronomical fee request stems from a recent ruling by a federal judge that granted her the right to seek compensation after the co-stars settled their years-long legal battle. Her legal team petitioned for these fees under a specialized California statute designed to protect survivors of sexual abuse from retaliatory defamation lawsuits. While the judge ultimately allowed Lively to pursue these defense fees, the court drew a firm line by denying her request for punitive damages, ruling that such a penalty fell outside the carefully crafted federal rules established to protect the rights of both parties in a civil dispute. Lively’s attorneys, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, have previously framed the settlement as a “resounding victory,” claiming it successfully held Baldoni accountable for allegedly abusing the judicial system to silence and intimidate their client.
The financial dust-up comes just days after Baldoni broke his silence on the grueling legal fight, taking to social media to share his side of the emotional toll the conflict has taken. In a video posted alongside his wife, Emily, the actor-director expressed deep gratitude to his fans for their unwavering support during what he described as a “traumatic” and “painful” experience. Emily Baldoni spoke candidly about feeling victimized by a system of “injustice,” questioning how such a destructive situation could arise and be “disguised as a fight for women.” Justin Baldoni explained that he had purposely chosen to remain quiet during the height of the litigation because he did not want to add to the public clamor, opting instead to let the legal process run its natural course.
The roots of this bitter feud trace back to the production and aftermath of It Ends with Us, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel about surviving domestic abuse. Although the film achieved box office success upon its 2024 release, its promotional run and legacy were severely tarnished by the actors’ escalating real-life drama. The conflict exploded publicly in December 2024 when Lively filed a civil rights complaint in California accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, which coincided with a New York Times article detailing an alleged smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni’s public relations team. Both stars subsequently launched retaliatory lawsuits—Lively for harassment and discrimination, and Baldoni for defamation. Following a series of dismissals and courtroom setbacks for both sides, the pair finally reached a settlement just weeks before a scheduled May trial.
With the settlement finalized, this battle over millions of dollars in attorney’s fees represents the final, bitter chapter of their professional partnership. While Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has kept the exact terms of the settlement confidential, he previously stated that his client was “ecstatic” with the outcome. However, as Baldoni’s team fights to block Lively’s $8 million payout, it is clear that the healing process he spoke of remains hindered by the lingering financial wreckage of their dispute. The court’s upcoming decision on whether to slash Lively’s requested fees will finally bring a definitive, costly close to one of Hollywood’s most toxic and public modern legal battles.
