Justin Baldoni's $400M countersuit against Blake Lively dismissed

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Justin Baldoni 's $400million countersuit against Blake Lively has been dismissed - DailyMail.com can confirm - amid their ongoing It Ends With Us legal wrangle. In December 2024, the actress sued Baldoni for allegedly sexually harassing her on set — claims he denied - before Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios fired back with a defamation suit against Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane and husband Ryan Reynolds.
Baldoni also waged war with The New York Times, filing a $250million lawsuit against the publication over its bombshell tell-all on Lively's sexual harassment claims against her former co-star on December 31, 2024. Now in a shock twist, a judge has dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit in a major setback for the actor's hopes for a blockbuster win over the millionaire actress. Judge Lewis J Liman has dismissed Baldoni's suit alleging defamation and extortion on the basis that all Lively's allegations were made within privileged court papers.
Liman said in the order obtained by DailyMail.com: 'The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged. 'The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and [publicist Leslie] Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign.
'But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law. 'The Wayfarer Parties' additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety.' The judge ruled: 'The Times reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatized manner, what it believed to have happened. The Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively's version of events.'
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios for comment but has yet to hear back. Wayfarer Studios was founded by Baldoni and billionaire businessman Steve Sarowitz in 2019. A statement obtained by DailyMail.com from Blake Lively's lawyers read: 'Today's opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds , Leslie Sloane and The New York Times . 'As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it.
'We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys' fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.' Liman also weighed in on the demands Lively sought on the set of It Ends With Us in order to prevent further discomfort on the set, with his opinion stating: 'Even if they turn out to be unneeded, an employee can insist on protections at workplace for sexual harassment without being accused of extortion. If an employer accedes, it cannot later claim to be a victim of the employee's wrongful threats.'
Additionally, Liman said of the allegation that Lively threatened to not promote the film unless her cut was released, among other requests: 'There also is no allegation that Lively had a contractual obligation to promote the film; if not, there is no basis to assume that the value that she conveyed in terms of her willingness to promote represented anything other than a fair trade for the Wayfarer Parties' willingness to use her cut.' The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni officially erupted last year after rumors of tension between the two, with the actress accusing her co-star of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign, allegations Baldoni denied.
In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni's collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio's CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel. 'I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,' Lively told The New York Times the day after she filed the complaint. Baldoni has denied the allegations brought about by Lively, while Lively, Reynolds and Sloane have denied the accusations made in litigation by Baldoni.
Baldoni's team has released a website which includes private communications such as text messages that were included in court filings detailing his interactions with the Hollywood power couple over the making of the romantic drama. He claimed in court filings they made efforts to usurp and undermine his input as the director of It Ends with Us. Baldoni's team previously said that the communications shared in court filings on the website makes things clear about the motives of both parties. The website, which is live online at thelawsuitinfo.com, comes amid a spate of high-profile litigation between the collaborators on the film, which was a hit at the box office last August.
Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni on December 20, before officially filing a federal lawsuit on December 31. In her lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways - including body shaming her - and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation. Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted 'false accusations of sexual harassment' against him. Baldoni and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture.
On June 3, DailyMail.com revealed Lively, 37, dropped a claim of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress against Baldoni. Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled '"We Can Bury Anyone": Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine ;' the newspaper has denied the allegations. Since Lively's complaint was filed, Baldoni has faced a number of professional consequences, including a lawsuit from a former publicist ; and being dropped by the agency WME , which also reps Lively and Reynolds. WME has denied claims that Lively and Reynolds leaned on them to release Baldoni from their client roster, according to Variety.
It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences. The film, adapted from the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel, earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo. Lively broke out with the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants opposite Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera. That led to her high-profile role on the TV show Gossip Girl, which she starred on from 2007-2012, playing lead character Serena van der Woodsen. She has also appeared in movies such as 2010's The Town, 2016's The Shallows, 2018's A Simple Favor and 2020's The Rhythm Section. Prior to It Ends with Us, Baldoni was best known for playing the role of Rafael Solano on the TV show Jane the Virgin from 2014–2019. He also has directed films including 2019's Five Feet Apart and 2020's Clouds, and penned the 2021 book Man Enough, which tackled misconceptions of contemporary masculinity.