Blake Lively drops two claims against Justin Baldoni

BBC News

2 days ago

The actress Blake Lively has attempted to withdraw two of the claims she made about director Justin Baldoni.Both have been engaged in a legal dispute since Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024 after they worked together on the film It Ends With Us, accusing him of sexual harassment and a smear campaign.Baldoni's legal team asked Lively to release her medical records, including therapy notes, as part of its defence against her claims she suffered "severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment", Variety said. Lively is trying to drop claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress, the publication added.
The court will decide if it will dismiss the claims or compel Lively to hand over information related to her mental health.Variety approached Baldoni's lawyers, who have declined comment. The BBC has also approached both parties for comment.
Documents filed by Baldoni's legal team on Monday said: "Instead of complying with the Medical RFPs [Request for Proposal], Ms Lively's counsel recently advised us, in writing, that Ms Lively is withdrawing her [infliction of emotional distress] claims."They wrote that Lively had refused their "reasonable request that the withdrawal of such claims be with prejudice" opening up the possibility they could be refiled. Lively's lawyers told Variety Baldoni's filing was "a press stunt" and said her defence was "streamlining and focusing" her case.They added: "The Baldoni-Wayfarer strategy of filing retaliatory claims has exposed them to expansive new damages claims under California law, rendering certain of Ms Lively's original claims no longer necessary. "Ms Lively continues to allege emotional distress, as part of numerous other claims in her lawsuit, such as sexual harassment and retaliation, and massive additional compensatory damages on all of her claims."
In January this year, Baldoni counter-sued Lively and her husband, the actor Ryan Reynolds, on claims of civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.Lively and Baldoni have been locked in a dispute since It Ends With Us, which is an adaption of a best-selling Colleen Hoover novel, was released last summer.In the film Lively played the main character, Lily Bloom, a young woman who grew up witnessing domestic abuse, and winds up in the same position years later.The singer Taylor Swift had been summoned to a US court last month, after it was alleged she encouraged Baldoni to accept script rewrites by Lively.Representatives for Swift said at the time "she was not involved in any casting or creative decision" and "never saw an edit or made any notes on the film".The subpoena was dropped about two weeks later, after Swift's legal team objected that the legal order amounted to an "unwarranted fishing expedition", Variety said.