Judge dismisses Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against Blake Lively
New York: A judge on Monday dismissed the lawsuit filed by actor and director Justin Baldoni against his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively after she sued him for sexual harassment and retaliation.
US District Court Judge Lewis Liman's decision is the latest development in the bitter legal battle surrounding the dark romantic drama that includes Lively suing Baldoni in late December.
Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios countersued in January for $US400 million, accusing Lively and her husband, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion.
The judge ruled that Baldoni can't sue Lively for defamation over claims she made in her lawsuit, because allegations made in a lawsuit are exempt from libel claims. Liman also ruled that Baldoni's claims that Lively stole creative control of the film didn't count as extortion under California law.
Baldoni's legal team can revise the lawsuit if they want to pursue different claims related to whether Lively breached a contract, the judge said.
Emails seeking comment were sent to attorneys for Baldoni and Lively.
It Ends With Us, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling 2016 novel that begins as a romance but takes a dark turn into domestic violence, was released in August, exceeding box office expectations with a $US50 million debut. But the movie's release was shrouded by speculation over discord between Lively and Baldoni.
The judge also dismissed Baldoni's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, which had reported on Lively's sexual harassment allegations.
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A US judge has dismissed actor Justin Baldoni's $400 million (£295 million) defamation lawsuit against his former co-star, Blake Lively. Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her while filming the 2024 movie It Ends With Us. Baldoni in turn accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, the New York Times and others of orchestrating a smear campaign against him. He accused Lively of trying to "hijack" the movie, then blame him when her "disastrous" promotional approach prompted an online backlash against her.
