Judge dismisses Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively
Blake Lively arrives for the Saturday Night Live 50: The Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, U.S., February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo
NEW YORK - A U.S. judge on Monday dismissed actor Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against actress Blake Lively, who had accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her while filming the 2024 movie "It Ends With Us."
Baldoni had accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, the New York Times and others of orchestrating a smear campaign to extort him.
He accused Lively of trying to "hijack" the movie, whose themes included domestic violence, and then blame him when her "disastrous" promotional approach prompted an online backlash against her.
"It Ends With Us" garnered mixed reviews, but grossed more than $351 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. REUTERS
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FILE PHOTO: Sly Stone arrives at the BMI Urban Music Awards in New York, September 10, 2009. REUTERS/Chip East/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Funk music pioneer Sly Stone performs during a concert with Sly & The Family Stone at the 41st Montreux Jazz Festival early July 14, 2007. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Sly Stone, the driving force behind Sly and the Family Stone, a multiracial American band whose boiling mix of rock, soul and psychedelia embodied 1960s idealism and helped popularize funk music, has died at the age of 82, his family said on Monday. Stone died after a battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues, a statement from his family said. "While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come," the statement said. Stone was perhaps best known for his performance in 1969 at the historic Woodstock music festival, the hippie culture's coming-out party. His group was a regular on the U.S. music charts in the late 1960s and 1970s, with hits such as "Dance to the Music," "I Want to Take You Higher," "Family Affair," "Everyday People," "If You Want Me to Stay," and "Hot Fun in the Summertime." But he later fell on hard times and became addicted to cocaine, never staging a successful comeback. The confident and mercurial Stone played a leading role in introducing funk, an Afrocentric style of music driven by grooves and syncopated rhythms, to a broader audience. James Brown had forged the elements of funk before Stone founded his band in 1966, but Stone's brand of funk drew new listeners. It was celebratory, eclectic, psychedelic and rooted in the counterculture of the late 1960s. "They had the clarity of Motown but the volume of Jimi Hendrix or The Who," Parliament-Funkadelic frontman George Clinton, a contemporary of Stone and another pioneering figure in funk, once wrote. When Sly and the Family Stone performed, it felt like the band was "speaking to you personally," Clinton said. Stone made his California-based band, which included his brother Freddie and sister Rose, a symbol of integration. It included Black and white musicians, while women, including the late trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, had prominent roles. That was rare in a music industry often segregated along racial and gender lines. Stone, with his orb-like Afro hairstyle and wardrobe of vests, fringes and skin-tight leather, lived the life of a superstar. At the same time, he allowed bandmates to shine by fostering a collaborative, free-flowing approach that epitomized the 1960s hippie ethic. "I wanted to be able for everyone to get a chance to sweat," he told Rolling Stone magazine in 1970. 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In 2011, after launching what would become a years-long legal battle to claim royalties he said were stolen, Stone was arrested for cocaine possession. That year, media reported Stone was living in a recreational vehicle parked on a street in South Los Angeles. Stone had a son, Sylvester, with Silva. He had two daughters, Novena Carmel, and Sylvette "Phunne" Stone, whose mother was bandmate Cynthia Robinson. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
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Judge dismisses Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively
Blake Lively arrives for the Saturday Night Live 50: The Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, U.S., February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo NEW YORK - A U.S. judge on Monday dismissed actor Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against actress Blake Lively, who had accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her while filming the 2024 movie "It Ends With Us." Baldoni had accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, the New York Times and others of orchestrating a smear campaign to extort him. He accused Lively of trying to "hijack" the movie, whose themes included domestic violence, and then blame him when her "disastrous" promotional approach prompted an online backlash against her. "It Ends With Us" garnered mixed reviews, but grossed more than $351 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
