Blake Lively shows up to Met Gala 2026 hours after Justin Baldoni lawsuit reaches settlement | Watch

Blake Lively made her Met Gala comeback on Monday, local time, just hours after settling the acrimonious years-long ‘It Ends With US’ legal drama with co-star Justin Baldoni. Her appearance at the fundraiser was a surprise.

They averted a costly civil trial scheduled for May, where both actors were expected to testify about Lively's allegations of sexual misconduct against Baldoni.

Lively last attended the Met Gala in 2022, when she served as a co-chair alongside her husband Ryan Reynolds.

Blake Lively Met comeback

Blake Lively arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute's annual fashion event on Monday, May 4, in an archival Atelier Versace gown from spring 2006.

This year's theme for the Met Gala was “Costume Art,” and the dress code was “Fashion is Art”.

Her dreamy gown that erupted in a cloud of pink, purple and yellow tulle was inspired by 18th-century Venetian Rococo paintings.

Lively shared that the original 2006 dress had been "Met-ified" with the addition of a massive 13-foot cascading chiffon train featuring three-dimensional architectural elements.

She was carrying a custom box-shaped clutch by Judith Leiber Couture. In a touching tribute, each side of the bag featured watercolour artwork painted by one of her four children with Ryan Reynolds — James, Inez, Betty, and Olin. Lively called the personalised bag her "little comfort" for the red carpet.

She finished the ensemble with sparkling Lorraine Schwartz jewellery and Christian Louboutin heels.

Notably, Lively walked the red carpet solo this year — Ryan Reynolds did not attend the event.

End to Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni's lengthy legal battle

Blake Lively's initial complaint had said Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film ‘It Ends With Us’, had spoken inappropriately about his sex life and sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script and had not been agreed to.

It also said producer Jamey Heath had watched Lively while she was topless, despite having been asked to turn away. It further said Baldoni waged a PR campaign to wreck Lively's reputation.

The joint statement by Baldoni and Lively's attorneys 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.”

“We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms Lively deserved to be heard... It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace,” it added.

They did not disclose any settlement figure.

Baldoni and the studio Wayfarer had previously countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds with claims of extortion and defamation – but a judge dismissed those claims last year.

A judge dismissed some of Lively's claims but upheld her allegations of retaliation, which would have proceeded to trial on May 18.

(With agency inputs)