3 days ago
Judge dismisses Justin Baldoni's defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively
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."
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan said Lively's claims to a California state agency about Baldoni's alleged harassment during the filming were privileged, and shielded from the defamation claim by Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios.
In a 132-page decision, Liman also dismissed Baldoni's related $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times (NYT.N), opens new tab for its December 21, 2024 article about the dispute, "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine."
The judge said Baldoni can try to file a much narrower lawsuit against Lively focused on contractual issues.
Lawyers for Baldoni did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"Today's opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively," her lawyers Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson said in a joint statement. "As we have said from day one, this $400 million lawsuit was a sham."
Baldoni's lawsuit was in response to Lively's own lawsuit over his alleged harassment. She still seeks unspecified triple and punitive damages, and a March 2026 trial remains scheduled before Liman.
A Times spokesman, Charlie Stadtlander, said in a statement: "Our journalists went out and covered carefully and fairly a story of public importance, and the court recognized that the law is designed to protect just that sort of journalism."
