Blake Lively stepped out for the 2026 Met Gala just hours after it was revealed that she and Justin Baldoni reached a settlement in their lawsuit, meaning the case won’t go to trial.
The Gossip Girl alum, 38, dressed for the “Costume Art” theme at the Monday, May 4, event at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. She opted to wear a pastel Atelier Versace dress, which featured a draped bodice that was embroidered with gemstones and featured shades of powdery pink, yellow, coral, peach and lilac. The dress also included a long train, which she showed up while walking up the stairs of the venue.
Lively accessorized the look with a custom Judith Leiber Couture bag, which was personalized with colorful artworks that were made by her four children.
She walked the red carpet alone, as her husband, Ryan Reynolds, seemingly skipped the event.
Lively has been a Met Gala standout since making her debut on fashion’s biggest night in 2008. Reynolds — whom she married in September 2012 — notably joined her at the glamorous event for their first red carpet appearance as a couple in 2014. After years of setting the style standard for Met Gala fashion statements, Lively had been absent from the annual fundraiser since 2023 and before making her return this year.
Lively’s attendance at the 2026 gala comes exactly two weeks before her trial against Baldoni, 42, was scheduled to begin on May 18. However, it was confirmed that Lively and Baldoni reached a settlement in the case just hours before she and Reynolds hit the Met Gala red carpet.
“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,” Lively and Baldoni said in a statement to Us Weekly via their attorneys on May 4. “We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard.”
The statement continued, “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.”
In December 2024, Lively sued her It Ends With Us costar and director, Baldoni, for alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and lost wages. Baldoni denied the allegations and countersued Lively in January 2025, though his case was ultimately dismissed that June.
Shortly before Lively and Baldoni were scheduled to head to court over her accusations, federal judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims from her lawsuit in April. Her allegations of harassment, defamation and conspiracy were thrown out, while her claims of breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation were allowed to proceed to trial.
At the time, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman told TMZ in a statement that it was “gratifying” to see that the court ruling “confirms what the legal team believed from day one” — that Baldoni and his codefendants “have not engaged in this sexual harassment as alleged.”
Meanwhile, Lively’s attorney Michael Gottlieb said in a statement to Us that it was “completely unsurprising that Bryan Freedman does not understand the court’s actual ruling.”
“What the court actually decided yesterday is that Blake Lively provided evidence to go to trial on her core claims: that she spoke out against what she believed was sexual harassment on the set and suffered retaliation that harmed her reputation as a result,” Gottlieb continued. “The court’s ruling that Ms. Lively’s state and federal harassment claims could not go to trial was about legal issues rather than an endorsement of the defendants’ conduct.”
Gottlieb added, “The court held that Ms. Lively’s sexual harassment claims could not go to a jury because Ms. Lively did not sign a contract, that she is an independent contractor instead of an employee and that the offensive conduct occurred in New Jersey instead of California.”
Lively, for her part, spoke out about the judge’s decision via her Instagram Story at the time.
“I am grateful for the court’s ruling which allows the heart of my case to be presented to a jury next month, and for the ability to finally tell my story in full at trial, for my own sake, but also for those who don’t have the same opportunity to … many of whom I have known and loved deeply in my life and the countless I’ll never know,” she wrote. “The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I brought this case because of the pervasive RETALIATION I faced, and continued to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others.”
Lively added that she “will never stop doing” her part to “expose the systems and people who seek to harm, shame, silence and retaliate against victims.”
“I know it’s a privilege to be able to stand up. I will not waste it,” she concluded. “Your support keeps me going.”
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