Celebrity News May 07, 2026
‘It Ends with Us’ Actor Adam Mondschein Reveals Justin Baldoni’s Reaction to Blake Lively Settlement
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Days after Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled, “It Ends with Us” actor Adam Mondschein is weighing in.
“Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi spoke with Mondschein, who played a doctor in the movie and is also good friends with Justin in real life.
The two have been friends for 20 years, according to Adam.
As for how he processed the settlement, Adam commented, “It was a relief, because to us, Team Blake finally admitted defeat and, you know, staunched the bleeding... because they settled for nothing."
Blake and Justin’s legal battle had been ongoing since December 2024 after she filed a legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department claiming Baldoni sexually harassed her on set. She later accused him of defamation and Baldoni denied all of her allegations.
Adam said, “It’s not even a brand, it's a reputation because it’s him. It’s his integrity. For that to be smeared, to be weaponized, to be thrown into the public's face in a way that brings up accusations that are so far from his core of who he is, it, I wouldn't say broke him, but it just buried him under the weight of being misseen, misjudged, of feeling like all of this work he has done to help is being thrown in his face."
He added, "I think his heart was broken, because he puts it into his work. He's an artist."
Referencing the film, which deals with domestic violence, Adam said, "The subject matter is so important, which is why he wasn't launching any brands with it, he's not making it about himself. He was partnered with domestic violence groups and nonprofits, that was the focus."
When asked how Justin is feeling about the settlement, Adam answered, "It's that bittersweet mix of they settled, they came, they quit, they lost. It's absolute defeat for everything she was claiming they were fighting for, hundreds of millions of dollars, and they left with nothing."
But Adam acknowledged that the legal battle might not be over just yet.
He noted, “They have to wait for whatever happens with the last three bits that are contractual between the studios and her claims of retaliation and smear stuff, which is easily disprovable but takes time."
Adam emphasized, "I would say that he's very excited in that sense that they get to hold this victory close to their hearts and know that other people now get to see the truth of it in further ways, but that it's not over yet, because you don't know what the most powerful people in Hollywood are going to do with their endless amounts of resources and influence."
Lively’s team filed court papers on Thursday, arguing that the settlement allows them to push for Baldoni and Wayfarer to pay for all her legal fees and punitive damages under California Civil Code Section 47.1, which protects those reporting sexual harassment or discrimination from retaliatory defamation suits.
While Adam believes that justice has been served with the settlement, Blake’s team is calling the settlement a “resounding victory” for them.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman clapped back, saying, “Let’s be clear, this is a win and total victory for the Wayfarer parties. The court had already dismissed 10 of Ms. Lively’s 13 claims, including every sexual harassment claim, every defamation claim, and all claims against the individual defendants. Ms. Lively voluntarily dismissed the rest. In our view, they settled because they knew they were going to lose in court. All that remains is a pending request for fees based on a very narrow issue that has been with the court since September 2025.”
The settlement announcement came hours before the Met Gala, which Blake attended.
When asked if he and Justin had talked about Blake's Met Gala appearance, Adam said, "Only briefly... It's one of those, like, if you could hear someone's eyes roll, that would be it. Like, 'Alright. Okay, girl'... $60 million from each party towards the lawyer and now here's another hundred thousand dollars dropped towards, you know, a good cause, the Met Gala... but that's just money, money, money."
He elaborated, "I feel sorry for her, in that way and I can say that honestly, because I can't imagine what it must be like to be her, to have to be that way. But I don't think there's much in there. I think it's a lot of image, and I think that's the hope is to try to present and craft and curate, and so it's expected, so that's why I said eye-roll."
