‘Did Blake Lively Drop Her Lawsuit?' Trends Amid Justin Baldoni Case Update
Blake Lively recently dropped claims of emotional distress against Justin Baldoni in a new legal filing. However, many fans may have been confused by this news and have been wondering if the former dropped her ongoing lawsuit against the latter. Lively and Baldoni's legal saga kicked off in December 2024. This was after the former filed a lawsuit accusing the latter of sexual harassment. Since then, the case, which has garnered widespread attention, has faced numerous developments.
So, did Blake Lively drop her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni? Here's what we know.
No, Blake Lively has not dropped her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. However, she has dropped her claims of emotional distress against the latter, as per new legal filings.
Lively requested to withdraw her claims of intentional emotional distress and negligent emotional distress on June 2, 2025. She filed them at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The actress' filing occurred after Baldoni's legal team tried to gain access to medical records in their efforts to defend their client from Lively's claim that she suffered 'severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration, and mental anguish.' In a Monday filing, it was revealed that Baldoni's attorneys sought to compel the A Simple Favor actress to sign a HIPAA release. This was so that the former could access Lively's therapy notes and other relevant information.
However, the filing revealed that instead of complying with the medical FRPs, Lively's legal team advised Baldoni's legal team that the actress was dropping her claims of emotional distress. It also revealed that she was refusing the Wayfarer Parties' request to withdraw the claims with prejudice. Thus, Lively wanted to:
Refused to disclose information and documents required to disprove her claims of suffering emotional distress, and that the Wayfarer Parties were guilty.
Maintain the right to re-file her IED claims at a later date.
The filing from Baldoni's attorneys was called 'a press stunt' by Lively's lawyers Mike Gottlieb and Ersa Hudson. Hudson and Gottlieb noted that they were only 'streamlining and focusing' her case (via Variety).
Moreover, in a statement to People, Hudson and Gottlieb claimed that Baldoni's team was trying to get 'another tired round of tabloid coverage.'
Originally reported by Abdul Azim Naushad on ComingSoon.
The post 'Did Blake Lively Drop Her Lawsuit?' Trends Amid Justin Baldoni Case Update appeared first on Mandatory.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit in jeopardy after reporter admits texting mistake
Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane may be in jeopardy because of a journalist's text message using the wrong choice of words. Baldoni's filing largely centered on a text sent by a reporter claiming that Sloane said Lively was 'sexually assaulted' by Baldoni. His legal team cited the 'unsubstantiated accusation' as evidence that Sloane pushed a 'false narrative' to 'destroy Baldoni and his reputation.' The journalist who sent the text in question, identified as Daily Mail reporter James Vituscka, has since come forward and clarified the message, admitting that he used those words in error. 'In those text messages, my use of the phrase 'sexually assaulted' was a mistake. I meant to say, 'sexually harassed.' I regret this error,' Vituscka says, according to a signed declaration shared with the Daily News on Friday by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which is representing Sloane. 'Ms. Sloane never told me that Ms. Lively was sexually harassed or sexually assaulted by Justin Baldoni or anyone else,' Vituscka says. 'I regret that private text messages were made public.' What's more, Vituscka's text — which he claims he did not authorize to be used in Baldoni's filing — was 'not in reference to any conversation that I had with Leslie Sloane' but to the allegations made in the complaint Lively filed against Baldoni in mid-December, he says. In the initial complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department, the 'Gossip Girl' star, 37, accused her 41-year-old 'It Ends With Us' director of sexual harassment on the film's set and a retaliatory smear campaign. She formally sued Baldoni at the end of the year. Two weeks later, Baldoni filed his countersuit, accusing Lively, Reynolds and Sloane of defamation and civil extortion. In part using that message from Vituscka, his lawyers claimed Baldoni was targeted in a 'character assassination plot' orchestrated by Sloane at 'Lively's direction.' Sloane has maintained that said she never used the phrase 'sexually assaulted,' and has sought to be dismissed from the case. 'After being wrongfully dragged into this litigation, Leslie Sloane has repeatedly stated that she never used the phrase 'sexually assaulted' which formed the basis of Baldoni's meritless defamation claim against her and today she is fully vindicated by the declaration of James Vituscka that admits she never said those words,' attorney Sigrid McCawley said in a statement sent to The New York Daily News. 'The Wayfarer Parties never even bothered to attempt to confirm whether the outrageous allegations they were launching at Ms. Sloane were true, and they were not.' Legal teams for Lively and Baldoni did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit in jeopardy after reporter admits texting mistake
Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane may be in jeopardy because of a journalist's text message using the wrong choice of words. Baldoni's filing largely centered on a text sent by a reporter claiming that Sloane said Lively was 'sexually assaulted' by Baldoni. His legal team cited the 'unsubstantiated accusation' as evidence that Sloane pushed a 'false narrative' to 'destroy Baldoni and his reputation.' The journalist who sent the text in question, identified as Daily Mail reporter James Vituscka, has since come forward and clarified the message, admitting that he used those words in error. 'In those text messages, my use of the phrase 'sexually assaulted' was a mistake. I meant to say, 'sexually harassed.' I regret this error,' Vituscka says, according to a signed declaration shared with the Daily News on Friday by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which is representing Sloane. 'Ms. Sloane never told me that Ms. Lively was sexually harassed or sexually assaulted by Justin Baldoni or anyone else,' Vituscka says. 'I regret that private text messages were made public.' What's more, Vituscka's text — which he claims he did not authorize to be used in Baldoni's filing — was 'not in reference to any conversation that I had with Leslie Sloane' but to the allegations made in the complaint Lively filed against Baldoni in mid-December, he says. In the initial complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department, the 'Gossip Girl' star, 37, accused her 41-year-old 'It Ends With Us' director of sexual harassment on the film's set and a retaliatory smear campaign. She formally sued Baldoni at the end of the year. Two weeks later, Baldoni filed his countersuit, accusing Lively, Reynolds and Sloane of defamation and civil extortion. In part using that message from Vituscka, his lawyers claimed Baldoni was targeted in a 'character assassination plot' orchestrated by Sloane at 'Lively's direction.' Sloane has maintained that said she never used the phrase 'sexually assaulted,' and has sought to be dismissed from the case. 'After being wrongfully dragged into this litigation, Leslie Sloane has repeatedly stated that she never used the phrase 'sexually assaulted' which formed the basis of Baldoni's meritless defamation claim against her and today she is fully vindicated by the declaration of James Vituscka that admits she never said those words,' attorney Sigrid McCawley said in a statement sent to The New York Daily News. 'The Wayfarer Parties never even bothered to attempt to confirm whether the outrageous allegations they were launching at Ms. Sloane were true, and they were not.' Legal teams for Lively and Baldoni did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Abrego Garcia back in US to face federal charges
BALTIMORE — Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in the U.S. to face a federal indictment in Tennessee accusing him of transporting across the country hundreds of people who had entered the U.S. illegally. The sprawling two-count indictment alleges the Beltsville resident conspired with others for nearly a decade to transport people, as well as narcotics and firearms 'on occasions,' in over 100 trips from Texas to Maryland and other states. It marks a surprising turnaround in the mistakenly deported Maryland man's legal saga after months of litigation seeking to bring him back. Since being deported to a Salvadoran mega-prison in March, the Trump administration has defied a judge's orders to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. or communicate their efforts to do so. Experts have warned of a ongoing constitutional crisis due to the Trump administration's failure to grant Abrego Garcia a hearing or abide by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis' rulings. Justice Department officials said at a Friday afternoon news conference that they believed Abrego Garcia's indictment and return made the matter moot. 'Abrego Garcia has landed in the U.S. to face justice,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a Friday afternoon news conference. She said that El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who has previously refused to release Abrego Garcia, had agreed to return the 29-year-old after being presented with an arrest warrant. Abrego Garcia is charged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee with conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain.' In a filing to keep Abrego Garcia detained in the U.S., the Justice Department said that his potential sentence, if he is convicted, 'goes well beyond the remainder of [his] life.' Abrego Garcia was stopped by Tennessee's highway patrol in 2022, while transporting eight people. Officers suspected that the matter 'was a human trafficking incident,' according to a Department of Homeland Security document, though Abrego Garcia was not initially detained or charged. That traffic stop appears to be at least part of the basis for the indictment, which was filed under seal in late May and cites the encounter. The indictment also accuses Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13. Since his deportation in March, which Xinis ruled was illegal, Abrego Garcia has been held in El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center as well as in a smaller prison in Santa Ana. Trump administration officials had said that he was 'never coming back' to the U.S., despite a Supreme Court ruling affirming Xinis' order to facilitate his return. For months, the Trump administration has tried to publicly justify Abrego Garcia's removal, repeatedly accusing him of presenting a public danger. In April, Bondi posted a series of documents on X, including a 2019 'gang field interview sheet' from Prince George's County Police that cited a Chicago Bulls hat and a shirt as being 'indicative of the Hispanic gang culture.' The only other piece of corroborating evidence was a confidential source, according to the document, and members of the public have called the integrity of the police officer who authored the report into question. The 2019 investigation led to an immigration hearing, in which a judge decided Abrego Garcia could remain in the U.S. because 'it was more likely than not' he would be subjected to gang violence if deported. On X, Congressman Andy Harris, a Trump ally and the lone Republican in the Maryland congressional delegation, said that returning Abrego Garcia, whom he called an 'already deported illegal alien criminal,' to the U.S. is 'a waste of hard-earned taxpayer dollars,' implying that he will be deported again after he stands trial. Maryland Democrats said that Abrego Garcia's return, despite under criminal charges, was a victory. In a statement Friday afternoon, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat who first traveled to El Salvador to visit Abrego Garcia, said that the Trump administration has 'finally relented to our demands for compliance with court orders and with the due process rights.' 'As I have repeatedly said, this is not about the man, it's about his constitutional rights – and the rights of all,' Van Hollen said. 'The administration will now have to make its case in the court of law, as it should have all along.' 'Kilmar Abrego Garcia should not have been deported,' U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, said. 'Even the Supreme Court demanded this President follow the law and return him to the U.S. It is right that due process will be afforded to him.' In an interview Friday on CNN, Maryland U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin said he did not know any Democrats who've defended Abrego Garcia's conduct because to this point, he has not been charged with a crime. However, Raskin said since his deportation, Abrego Garcia has been entitled to a proper court procedure. 'It's not a moral question, it's a legal question,' the Montgomery County Democrat said. To accentuate his point, Raskin compared Abrego Garcia's case to Trump's criminal prosecution last year in New York. 'He had every element of due process along the way,' Raskin said of the president. Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey, who also traveled to El Salvador to see Abrego Garcia but was denied access, said in a CNN interview Friday that the Maryland father's return was likely due to the White House 'getting a lot of heat' about his case. 'It's good they could bring him back, and hopefully they'll bring back the other 250 plus Venezuelans and others who are in this odd status of deportation, even though they haven't done anything or been convicted of any criminal activity,' said Ivey, who represents the Maryland district where Abrego Garcia resides. Shortly after the indictment was unsealed, the Justice Department asked for Xinis to dissolve a preliminary injunction ordering Abrego Garcia's return, adding that the 'underlying case should be dismissed.' In that case, Xinis recently permitted the plaintiffs to seek sanctions against the U.S. government. She had not made any new rulings as of Friday afternoon. _____ (Baltimore Sun reporters Hannah Gaskill, Luke Parker and Ben Mause contributed to this story.) _____