Following Justin Baldoni’s last-minute legal settlement with Blake Lively, the filmmaker’s pal Adam Mondschein isn’t holding back about her Met Gala appearance just hours later.
“If you could hear eyes roll,” Mondschein, 50, exclusively told Page Six when asked about Lively, 38, attending the star-studded event following news of the settlement.
“I really do feel sorry for her, because I see those things as kind of desperate PR attempts to try to prove that everything is, I guess, their version of normal,” he said. “I don’t know, it just feels contrived. Orchestrated. It feels hollow.”
Mondschein — who played OBGYN Dr. Dunbar in the controversial delivery-room scene in “It Ends With Us” — previously defended Baldoni, 42, after Lively accused her co-star and director of sexual harassment and fostering a toxic work environment in a bombshell lawsuit filed in December 2024.
The actor further compared Lively’s Met Gala appearance to elaborately wrapped holiday window displays that appear glamorous on the outside but are ultimately “empty” inside.
“Growing up in New York City … I loved going to the city and seeing the Macy’s Day window displays for Christmas,” he explained. “The presents that they had there were so shiny and wrapped and it was awesome. And there’s nothing in them.”
“To me, that’s how it feels,” he continued. “It feels very hollow. It feels very empty.”
Meanwhile, according to Mondschein, Baldoni spent the night of the Met Gala privately with loved ones.
“Justin was with his family and also I think he’s getting over a cold,” he said.
The actor became emotional while discussing the toll the public fallout has allegedly taken on Baldoni.
“He’s a real person,” Mondschein said. “He’s out here experiencing all of this chaos like a human person would. And it’s insurmountable.”
“He wears his heart on his sleeve, and he’s legit. He’s the real deal,” he continued. “That’s hard for people because it can come across cheesy at worst, but it’s hard in this industry for people to believe that someone has integrity, that someone really does care.”
Mondschein went on to praise Baldoni’s past work, including his “The Man Enough” podcast and his “My Last Days” documentary series, which follows terminally ill people sharing their stories.
“He uses whatever modicum of recognizability he has for good,” Mondschein said. “He really cares.”
As Page Six previously reported, Lively and Baldoni made the shocking decision to settle their lengthy court battle on May 4 in what we’re told was a “last-minute deal.”
A source said that the “It Ends With Us” co-stars had been negotiating for a few weeks and were encouraged to make a settlement.
“They finally came to an agreement today. It was a last-minute deal,” the insider shared with us just moments after the settlement was reached. “The magistrate and the judge wanted to avoid this going to trial as it was going to be a long, drawn-out case, so they were encouraged to reach an agreement.”
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