Blake Lively was seen in New York on Tuesday, September 1, shortly after Candace Owens appeared to needle the actress by sharing a selfie with Justin Baldoni, her former It Ends With Us co-star.
The 39-year-old actor was photographed carrying a takeaway coffee to her husband, Ryan Reynolds, who was waiting in his car. She wore a grey knitted cardigan with a matching skirt, accessorised with Chanel sunglasses, a heart-shaped necklace and a sapphire ring.
Her autumn-inspired outfit also included $950 mesh ballet flats by Khaite and a burgundy suede Chanel bucket bag reportedly priced at $6,700.
The sighting came days after a New York judge ruled that Lively should receive $407,451.75 in legal fees and costs following Baldoni’s failed defamation action against her. She had sought about $8 million.
Judge Lewis J. Liman awarded $363,245.40 in lawyers’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs, saying the court could reimburse only expenses connected with defending against the defamation claims under the California law relied upon by Lively. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/b7009f05eb021697a9acd87f9f8eb362))
Attorneys for Baldoni described the decision as a significant victory for their client, while Lively’s lawyers called it a historic ruling and said it established that there could be consequences for retaliatory lawsuits. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/b7009f05eb021697a9acd87f9f8eb362))
Candace Owens shares Justin Baldoni selfie
Owens posted the image on Instagram on Monday, August 31, after saying she had unexpectedly encountered Baldoni at an airport in Iceland the previous week.
“There was an approximate 1 in 100 million chance that I ran into Justin Baldoni at an airport in Iceland on a Friday afternoon,” the political commentator wrote. “Just incredible.”
She added the hashtag “#Cousins” and wrote: “NOBODY messes with my cousin.” Owens has been a vocal supporter of Baldoni during his legal dispute with Lively and had previously been mentioned in court filings connected with the case. ([usmagazine.com](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/candace-owens-snaps-selfie-with-justin-baldoni-cousins/))
In a further apparent reference to Lively, Owens paired the post on her Instagram Stories with Taylor Swift’s song My Tears Ricochet, which featured in It Ends With Us.
The choice of song drew attention because Lively and Swift were once close friends, but their relationship is understood to have cooled amid the wider fallout surrounding the film and the actress’s legal battle with Baldoni.
Reynolds, 49, later attended the New York premiere of his comedy film Mayday at AMC Lincoln Square without his wife. He wore a grey suit with white trainers and appeared alongside co-stars Maria Bakalova and Sir Kenneth Branagh.
Lively sued Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation during the making of It Ends With Us. Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively, Reynolds and others, accusing them of defamation and related wrongdoing.
A federal judge dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit in June 2025. Lively and Baldoni later agreed to settle their remaining claims in May 2026, shortly before the case was due to go to trial, with no money changing hands. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/b7009f05eb021697a9acd87f9f8eb362))
The dispute has continued to generate public exchanges despite the settlement, with Owens’s post arriving as the court battle reached its latest financial conclusion.
