Justin Baldoni appeared calm and upbeat as he returned to court in New York City on Thursday for a second day of settlement hearings connected to his ongoing legal battle involving It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively.
Baldoni’s appearance at the US District Court in Manhattan came one day after a settlement was not reached with Lively during a lengthy hearing on Wednesday. Negotiations reportedly lasted 6 hours but ended without an agreement, leaving the future of the dispute unclear.
Thursday’s hearing was tied to a separate but related legal fight involving Baldoni’s former publicist, Stephanie Jones. Baldoni, 41, and his current publicist, Jennifer Abel, filed a lawsuit against Jones last March, accusing her of sharing private messages that later became key evidence in Lively’s case against Baldoni.
The actor and director arrived at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Courthouse at 9.56 a.m., accompanied by his wife Emily, also 41. Baldoni appeared relaxed as he walked past reporters, dressed in a long gray coat and an open-necked brown-collared shirt. He smiled as he entered, with around a dozen members of the media gathered outside.
As he approached the courthouse doors, Baldoni offered a brief comment to those waiting in the cold. ‘I hope you guys stay warm,’ Baldoni said. ‘I hope you guys stay nice and warm.’ He was seen placing an arm around his wife’s back as they walked inside. Baldoni was also joined by It Ends With Us producer Jamey Heath and Heath’s wife, Natasha.
Heath has been mentioned in allegations made by Lively, who claimed he approached her and her assistant while on set and showed them a graphic video. According to Lively, Heath allegedly played footage of “a fully nude woman with her legs spread apart.” Lively reportedly believed the clip was pornography at first, but Heath later claimed it was actually a video of his wife giving birth.
Unlike the day before, Lively was not expected to attend Thursday’s proceedings. The settlement conference focused on Jones and Abel, not on the dispute directly involving Lively. On Wednesday, Lively was seen leaving her own settlement hearing with Baldoni looking visibly tense and “stone-faced,” according to reports.
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, arrived later in the morning at around 11.25 a.m. and appeared confident about the day ahead. ‘I’m gonna be grateful and have a wonderful day,’ he said. Freedman also suggested he felt optimistic about the outcome, adding that he expected “everything is going to go well today.”
When asked whether he expected to return to court again, Freedman brushed off the question. ‘Never my last day here,’ he said. Despite the positive tone from Baldoni and his legal team, no settlement was reached on Thursday. Reports also noted that no fans gathered outside the courthouse in support of either side on either day.
Freedman had previously addressed the stalled negotiations with Lively, saying, ‘I don’t know that he will,’ when asked whether settlement discussions might continue. When questioned about the possibility of a trial, he responded: ‘I do. I’m looking forward to it.’
Jones arrived earlier than Baldoni at 9.26 a.m., wearing a long dark brown coat and a blue suit. She carried a coffee cup and did not speak to reporters before entering the building. Thursday’s hearing was closed to the public and the media, with settlement talks held in two adjoining courtrooms, as on Wednesday.
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