The Blake Lively ‘car crash’ laid bare in excruciating detail: Top Hollywood insider reveals ‘spiteful’ gossip about her REAL motivation for flop lawsuit… and why husband Ryan has a lot to answer for

When Blake Lively had to play an injured surfer menaced by a great white shark in the 2016 horror thriller The Shallows, she might have thought she’d never again have to play a character in such deadly peril.

But while the killer fish was entirely computer-generated, her adversary in 2024 romantic drama It Ends With Us, whose plot revolved around domestic violence, was always very real. And potentially more deadly.

Her seemingly interminable struggle with her director and co-lead Justin Baldoni has finally ended, although some predict it will leave scars on the Hollywood actress rather more damaging than the small chunk taken out of her character’s bikini-clad leg in The Shallows.

For rarely has a clash of over-inflated Hollywood egos caused such catastrophic harm to those concerned.

On Monday, the pair announced in a joint statement that, after nearly two years of fighting, Lively had settled her legal dispute against Baldoni’s production company, studio and PR agency. In just two weeks they were due to go to federal court in Manhattan over her accusations that they had conducted a smear campaign – waged largely online – against her after she complained of sexual harassment from Baldoni while making the movie. He had denied her accusation, countering that she had tried to take over his film, changing the script.

Unusually for a conflict that was originally painted as a classic #MeToo confrontation, Lively, who then attended the Met Gala all smiles, has been widely judged to have been the main loser, emerging as the archetypal over-sensitive and overbearing prima donna who couldn’t tolerate not getting her way.

But as one Hollywood insider told the Daily Mail, the public interest in the drama was a bit like a ‘proverbial car wreck.’

It’s not just about the money, which has been estimated at a jaw-dropping $60 million simply in legal fees and which – according to sources – wasn’t made any easier for Lively to bear as she got no pay-off in their settlement.

The former Gossip Girl star also claimed in court papers that she lost as much as $40.5 million in reputational damage, up to $87.8 million in lost acting and endorsement opportunities and $143.5 million more in profits from her haircare and alcohol ranges. (Baldoni’s studio’s lawyers dismissed the figures as ‘pie-in-the sky.’)

But more damaging ultimately, even if it is harder to calculate, is the blow that this kerfuffle has reportedly done to her chances of ever working in Hollywood again. Because according to insiders, studios and streaming giants will hardly be rushing to employ her in future.

And it is understandable why they might be wary about both her and, to a lesser extent, Baldoni given all that has been revealed about their behavior. Acting and movies involve a suspension of disbelief, but we might now know too much about the real Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni to ever again see them convincingly play anyone but ruthless, scheming villains.

An executive at Sony, the studio that released their movie – perhaps now more appropriately retitled It Ends With Embarrassment – has described Lively as ‘epic-level stupid’ in a leaked email and added: ‘[She] probably will never work again, or not for a while.’

Those outside the industry will struggle to understand why two very highly paid stars should fight for so long and with such vitriol. The obvious answer, as it usually is when movie stars foul up badly, is hubris.

Unfortunately, those who could have best advised them on the wisdom of avoiding going to court in the first place were those who most benefited – their lawyers.

The latter will presumably have been paid handsomely for their leading role in the final act of the 17-month legal drama, a joint statement which failed miserably to pretend that anyone had sorted their differences.

Of the film’s development, it claimed with commendable understatement that ‘we acknowledge the process presented challenges’ and ‘recognize concerns raised by Ms Lively deserved to be heard.’

It went on: ‘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.’

What was most significant about this bland piece of corporate-speak was that it didn’t include anything approaching an apology from Baldoni. 

In fact, on Wednesday, his attorney, Bryan Freeman, told Extra that Baldoni is ‘ecstatic’ about the outcome of the settlement, though he declined to discuss details.

The fact that Lively reportedly caved without even getting a check from her former co-star must have been the final humiliation in a case that had long been slipping away from her.

Last month, a federal judge dismissed ten of the 13 the claims in Lively’s lawsuit, including all of the claims against Baldoni personally and the sexual harassment claim, allowing her to go forward only with her allegations against Baldoni’s production studio for retaliation, the PR firm for aiding and abetting retaliation, and his production company for breach of contract. Pretty small beer, in other words.