Blake Lively seeking to dismiss Justin Baldoni lawsuit
The legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni rages on. However, Lively is seeking an end to the dispute. She asked a judge to dismiss Baldoni’s $400million defamation lawsuit, claiming it stands merely a “vengeful” retaliation.
Back in December 2024, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star, claiming he sexually harassed her on set on the film as well as sharing messages between Baldoni and a PR firm seemingly organising an active smear campaign against her.
In response, after being dropped by his agency, Baldoni filed a huge $400m lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, as well as an additional suit against the New York Times, who first reported on Lively’s complaint.
In the lawsuit against Lively, Baldoni’s lawyer claimed the actor “either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth”.
However, Lively is now seeking to get this suit dismissed, calling it a “vengeful” attempt to weaponise federal courts and legal action after she accused him of sexual harassment.
Her lawyers claimed that Baldoni’s lawsuit was a “sinister campaign to bury and destroy” Lively for speaking out about his behaviour. This is something that the law seeks to protect victims from as Lively’s lawyer maintained, stating “The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits”, claiming that Baldoni’s was filed with the intention of silencing Lively.
As well as requesting this lawsuit is dismissed, Lively is also seeking damages for reputational and emotional harm that Baldoni has caused. Currently, their court date is set for March 9th, 2026. However, the judge in charge of the case previously suggested that this may need to move forward if the case continues to be such a high profile and present in the press in order to protect the jury.
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