Blake Lively slams Justin Baldoni for “avoiding accountability” in ‘It Ends With Us’ lawsuit
Lawyers representing Blake Lively have hit out at Justin Baldoni’s request for a summary judgment.
The legal representatives have claimed that this is a move to “avoid accountability” on Baldoni’s part for the “hostile environment” on the It Ends With Us set.
As per Variety, in the newly released filing, Lively’s attorneys have argued that Baldoni, as well as his company, Wayfarer Studios, are attempting to “deny Blake Lively her day in court”.
Since the movie’s release, the Baldonis and Lively have been entangled in an explosive legal battle over Lively’s case, which accuses her It Ends With Us co-star and director Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation, and also alleges that an online smear campaign was targeted against her. This case will head to court in March.
On the other side, Baldoni’s $400million defamation lawsuit against Lively was dismissed in June. A judge threw out Baldoni’s claims against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist for extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy that the director and actor had made in January.
In a heavily redacted filing, Lively’s attorneys have now accused Baldoni’s team of “throwing the kitchen sink at Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims”.
Further quotes from the filing state that the “defendants created a hostile environment, and when confronted with complaints, they abandoned Wayfarer’s policies by refusing to investigate the concerns.”
Baldoni’s team moved for a summary judgment last month. In the motion, they alleged that Lively’s allegations were a “litany of minor grievances” and, as such, are not evidence of any “adverse employment action,” which would usually be required to show retaliation.
At that time, Baldoni’s team also argued that, “Baldoni sought the advice of a crisis-management public relations firm, as any responsible person in his position would do.” This is in direct retaliation against Lively’s case, in which it is alleged that Baldoni ran a smear campaign against her.
As such, the new filing shows Lively’s team arguing that Baldoni “purposely, repeatedly, surreptitiously, and directly, attacked Lively’s character and reputation.”
The legal battle continues ahead of a court hearing in March 2026.
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