Alec Baldwin appears to have settled the $25 million defamation lawsuit brought against him by a Gold Star family.

The actor faced legal action on four counts after directing his Instagram followers to attack the widow and sisters of a Marine killed in the Afghanistan withdrawal. You first read about the suit exclusively here when it was filed two years ago. …

“My clients are happy that this matter is over,” Postiglione told me by phone. “They look forward to moving on— without Alec Baldwin in their lives.”

(via Off the Press)

[No one’s talking about why it came to a sudden end, but the implication is that Baldwin settled it. He’s facing a criminal trial in New Mexico over the ‘Rust’ shooting, and probably felt pressure to exit other legal entanglements ahead of that process. Presumably, the settlement was favorable enough to the plaintiffs to keep them quiet on the details, as well as publicly declaring their happiness to have Baldwin out of their lives forever … or so they hope. — Ed]