Lively vs. Baldoni: The Real Reason the Feuding Stars Settled

Lively vs. Baldoni: The Real Reason the Feuding Stars Settled

Author: The Crime Desk May 6, 2026 Duration: 16:31

After two years of legal mudslinging between “Gossip Girl” actress Blake Lively and actor-director Justin Baldoni, a civil trial was set to unfold in New York.


The “It Ends With Us” co-stars instead capped their bitter dispute with a settlement deal that ended an ugly and costly two-year public ordeal that battered their reputations.


The Trial: USA this week examines the history of the litigation and explains why a last-minute settlement was a likely outcome. Kayla Brantley interviews entertainment and sports attorney Thomas H. Herndon Jr. about the legal drama.


In this episode, Herndon Jr. breaks down the legal strategies at play and weighs in on what a trial may have looked like.


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  • Presenter: Kayla Brantley
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Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial


Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Lucy Robson

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East


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From its award-winning origins in the UK, The Trial: USA now turns its exacting focus to American courtrooms. This podcast, produced by The Crime Desk, moves far beyond the sensational headlines to place you inside the tense, often unpredictable theater of the nation's most consequential legal battles. Each episode is built from the ground up, meticulously reconstructing proceedings as the evidence unfolds in real time. You'll hear the pivotal testimony, the surprising objections, and the strategic maneuvers that define a case, all presented with a narrative drive that makes complex testimony accessible and utterly compelling. The series is distinguished by its exclusive access, featuring interviews with the detectives who built the investigation, the experts who dissected the facts, and the victims whose lives were changed. To ensure absolute fidelity to the record, The Trial: USA occasionally employs actors and generated voices to deliver verbatim quotes from court transcripts and documents, a method that underscores its commitment to factual storytelling over speculation. It’s for anyone who wants to understand the true weight of a verdict, feeling the courtroom atmosphere and grasping the human stories behind the gavel's fall.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 88

The Trial: USA
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