Blake Lively seeks $8 million in fees from Justin Baldoni

Actress Blake Lively is seeking more than $8 million in legal fees from actor and director Justin Baldoni, according to a court filing submitted Tuesday. The request follows the settlement of a bitter, multi-year legal dispute stemming from their collaboration on the 2024 film "It Ends With Us."

Lively's lawyers disclosed the amount, covering nearly $7.5 million in attorneys' fees and about $540,000 in other expenses, in a filing to a federal court in Manhattan. The request must still be approved by a judge. This development comes weeks after U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ruled that Lively is entitled to recover legal costs she incurred defending against a defamation countersuit filed by Baldoni.

The protracted conflict began in December 2024 when Lively sued Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios. She accused them of conspiring to damage her reputation after she privately accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the film's set. Baldoni, who directed and starred in the movie, denied the allegations.

Weeks later, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios filed a $400 million defamation and extortion countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist....