Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's legal fight isn't over

Yahoo

2 days ago

While Justin Baldoni's suit against Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds has been dismissed, she isn't done fighting her claims against her 'It Ends With Us' director and co-star - and Baldoni isn't done fighting back.
Michael Gottlieb, the attorney representing Lively in her civil sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Baldoni, told CNN the actress intends to continue pursuing her lawsuit against Baldoni.
In a conversation with Jake Tapper on Monday, Gottlieb said Lively is 'determined to see her claims through and to pursue them to have a full public accountability of what she's alleged happened to her.'
His statement came the same day a judge dismissed Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, as well as their publicist. He also dismissed a separate claim from Baldoni against the New York Times, who first reported Lively's allegations.
Gottlieb added that the power couple feels 'vindicated' by the ruling, as well as 'grateful to the individuals and organizations that have stood by Ms. Lively as she's pursued these claims.'
'I think that today is a message that these kind of retaliatory lawsuits that are really designed to silence and punish people who speak up won't work. They are not going to work. They won't be tolerated by our justice system and they will not be successful,' Gottlieb added. 'And I think that's an important message for those who want to speak up against the mistreatment that they may face in their workplaces.'
Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, responded with a statement provided to CNN on Tuesday.
'Ms. Lively and her team's predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling,' he said.
'The Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations. This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign,' the statement continued. 'With the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle and look forward to her forthcoming deposition, which I will be taking.
Freedman ended his statement by thanking 'the Internet sleuth community who continue to cover the case with discernment and integrity.'
It was yet another chapter in a nearly year-long legal feud between Lively and Baldoni, which grew to include Reynolds, the couple's publicist, Leslie Sloan, and the New York Times.
Lively filed a civil rights complaint in December 2024 claiming that she was sexually harassed by Baldoni during production of the film and then was retaliated against for speaking up about her alleged mistreatment.
He quickly denied her claims, fling suit against her and Reynolds in January 2025 alleging that the superstar couple sought to 'destroy' him and his career, after hijacking his film, 'It Ends With Us.'
Baldoni also sued the New York Times as the first to report on Lively's allegations of sexual harassment alleging that the newspaper published an article 'rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions' that relied on Lively's 'self-serving narrative.'
Motions to dismiss filed by Lively, Reynolds, Sloan and the New York Times were all granted on Monday.
'We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting,' a spokesperson for the New York Times said on Monday. 'Our journalists went out and covered carefully and fairly a story of public importance, and the court recognized that the law is designed to protect just that sort of journalism. We will continue to stand up in court for our journalism and for our journalists when their work comes under attack.'
In his ruling Monday, the judge held that Baldoni can file an amended complaint on the allegations of tortious interference with contract, relating to Reynolds and Lively, and breach of implied covenant, relating to Lively, by June 23.
Gottlieb acknowledged that the judge's ruling allowed for Baldoni to file an amended complaint relating to what he called 'ancillary or side claims,' but he underscored that the core defamation allegations are 'gone from the case.'
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to this report.