Blake Lively staged one of the most polarising red carpet returns in Met Gala history on 4 May 2026, arriving at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York just hours after settling anearly two-year legal battlewith her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
The Gossip Girl star made her first appearance at fashion's biggest night since 2022, choosing a pastel archival Atelier Versace gown and remaining entirely silent on the settlement as she walked the carpet.
Online, the reaction was immediate and largely furious, with audiences across social media demanding that the event's organisers ban Lively from future galas entirely. The appearance, timed only hours after attorneys for both sides issued a joint statement ending the acrimonious dispute, struck many observers as a deliberate and carefully staged public relaunch.
The settlement between Lively, Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios, and thePR firm The Agency Groupwasannounced on 4 May 2026, just two weeks before a Manhattan jury trial had been scheduled to begin. Attorneys representing both parties released a joint statement, the terms of which were not made public.
The statement read: '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. 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, issued by attorneys Bryan Freedman, Ellyn Garofalo, Michael Gottlieb, and Esra Hudson, continued: 'We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognise concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. 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.' The statement contained no direct apology from Baldoni.
The timing of Lively's arrival on the Met Gala carpet, within hours of that announcement, was not lost on either industry observers or the public.Deadline described her appearanceas 'taking a victory lap by any other name,' noting that honorary co-chairs Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez gave the event a commercial dimension that made Lively's presence all the more notable, given her Another Simple Favor sequel had been released on Prime Video in 2025.
The settlement did not arrive from a position of strength for Lively. In April 2026, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman issued a ruling thatdismissed ten of the thirteen claimsin Lively's federal lawsuit against Baldoni and his associates. Among the claims thrown out were allegations of sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy.
The dismissal of the core sexual harassment claim rested partly on the fact that Lively was classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee, a legal technicality that removed certain statutory protections.
Blake Lively’s Met Gala Moment Was Deeply Tone-DeafBlake Lively showing up at the Met Gala this year, smiling like nothing happened, honestly felt surreal. Not in a good way. More like… are we all just expected to pretend the last two years didn’t happen?Because that’s what…pic.twitter.com/cU97Yovi1J
Source: International Business Times UK
