Justin Baldoni, the actor and director who faced Hollywood actress Blake Lively in a mega-lawsuit over their movie It Ends With Us, could be making a new career move into advocacy for people who say they were falsely accused, according to his lawyer Bryan Freedman.
Freedman told TMZ that Baldoni has considered becoming “a speaker for people who have been wrongfully accused of something, and really beaten up by a power dynamic.”
This comes after Lively and Baldoni settled last month, ending a case that had been heading toward trial. Lively had alleged that Baldoni worked with publicists to damage her reputation after she privately accused him of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us.
Baldoni’s legal team denied her version of events and claimed Lively had worked to shape his public image against him with help from famous friends. After the settlement, the two sides released a joint statement through their lawyers.
“Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind,” the statement read. They added, “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.”
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
In the same statement, both sides said they recognized that Lively’s concerns “deserved to be heard” and that they “remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.” They also said, “The end product — the movie It Ends With Us — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life.”