Jastin Baldoni

 

Jastin Baldoni

Jastin Baldoni

Judge dismisses Justin Baldoni’s $400 million

defamation lawsuit against

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

 

Justin Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit against Hollywood power couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, a megadevelopment in the ongoing civil litigation between former co-stars Lively and Baldor

In January, Baldoni sued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, alleging that the Hollywood couple sought to “destroy'” him and his career, after hijacking his film, “It Ends With Us.” Baldoni’s complaint escalated the ongoing legal battle stemming from the film that Baldoni directed and co-starred in with Lively.

In a statement, Lively’s lawyers Esra Husband Mike Gottlieb called the ruling “a total victory and a complete vindication.” Jastin Baldoni

 

“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it,” the statement added.

In December 2024, Lively filed a civil rights complaint, claiming that she was sexually harassed by Baldoni during production of the film and then was retaliated against forespeaking up about her alleged

mistreatment. Baldoni immediately denied Lively’s claims. Jastin Baldoni

Lively eventually escalated her civil rights complaint, officially filing a lawsuit against Baldoni.

In a statement posted on her Instagram Story, Lively wrote that she was grateful for the support she’s received and said she is committed to continue advocating for

Women. Jastin Baldoni

 

“Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the

manufactured shame that tries to break us. While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fightback,” she wrote. “Tm more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every Wainright to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.”

Motions to dismiss Baldoni’s claims by Lively, Reynolds and their publicist, Leslie Sloane, were all granted. The judge also granted a motion to dismiss by the Newyork Times.

 

Baldoni had sued the publication, who was the first to report on Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment, for $250 million for libel, claiming that the newspaper published an article “rife with inaccuracies,

misrepresentations, and omissions” that relied on Lively’s “self-serving narrative.”

The judge ruled that Baldoni can file an amended complaint on the allegations of tortious interference with contract, relating to Reynolds and Lively, and breach of implied covenant, relating to Lively, by June23, if they choose to do So.

In a statement to CNN on Tuesday, Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni, said the intend to file an amended claims.

 

“The Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which Vill showcase additional evidence and refined allegations. This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign,” the statement continued. “With the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle and look forward to her

forthcoming deposition.”

 

“Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the

manufactured shame that tries to break us. While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fightback,” she wrote. “Tm more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every Wainright to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.”

Motions to dismiss Baldoni’s claims by Lively, Reynolds and their publicist, Leslie Sloane, were all granted. The judge also granted a motion to dismiss by the New York Times.

 

Baldoni had sued the publication, who was the first to report on Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment, for $250 million for libel, claiming that the newspaper published an article “rife with inaccuracies,

misrepresentations, and omissions” that relied on Lively’s “self-serving narrative.”

The judge ruled that Baldoni can file an amended complaint on the allegation’s of tortious interference with contract, relating to Reynolds and Lively, and breach of implied covenant, relating to Lively, by June23, if they chooses to do So.

In a statement to CNN on Tuesday, Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni, said the intend to file an amended claims.

 

A months-long legal battle

The New York Times was the first to report -in an article titled “”We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine” – that Lively had filed a complaint with Civil Rights Department about Baldoni’s alleged conduct on set of “It End With Us” and after production. Those complaints are typically confidential.

Lively alleged that after being sexually harassed with inappropriate comments and behavior on set, Baldoni’s team then orchestrated a smear campaign against her to ruin her reputation in the public sphere. Lively’s complaint contained hundreds of text messages between Baldoni and his crisis PR team, including one text that read they could “bury'” her.

 

Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios, his business partner Jamey Heath, Wayfarer co-founder Steve Sirowitz, and members from Baldoni’s PR and crisis management team were all cited as plaintiffs on the suit against the Times.

The judge’s ruling on Monday did not address the merits of Baldoni’s complaint but rather held that Lively’s sexual harassment claims in her complaint were protected by law and could not form the basis of a defamation claim. He cited apiece of California legislation that came in response to the #MeToo movement.

He also wrote in his decision that the act overproviding Lively’s complaint to the New York Times was not sufficient to constitute defamation “because the complaint is protected by the fair report privilege.”

 

In the months after Lively and Baldoni’s suits were filed, the legal battle has often played out in the public eye. In February, Baldoni’s team published a website containing texts and an alleged timeline relating to Lively’s claims. The website, a separate leaked voice note that Baldoni sent to Lively and several public statements made by Baldoni’s lawyer were the subject of several court hearings in recent months.

“It Ends With Us'” starred Lively and Baldoni as an on-screen couple and featured instances of domestic violence.

Rumors of their fractured professional relationship began percolating during the film’s 2024 press tour.

 

Lively also shared details of the allegations in anew York Times article published before her lawsuit.

Baldoni then brought defamation suits against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, claiming they were aiming to ruin his career and reputation with the allegations, Aswell as the New York Times.

Baldoni’s lawsuit centered on two claims: that Lively “stole the film” from him and his company Wayfarer by threatening not to promote it, and that she and others promoted a false narrative that Baldoni sexually assaulted her and launched a smear campaign against her, Judge Liman explained in his opinion.

But Baldoni and his production company “have not adequately alleged that Lively’s threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions”, he wrote.

 

Additionally, the judge wrote, Baldoni and his company had not proved defamation because the “Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements” in her lawsuit, which are privileged.

The judge also determined that evidence did not show that the New York Times “acted with actual malice” in publishing their story, dismissing that $250m suit as welly.

“The alleged facts indicate that the Times reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatized manner, what it believed to have happened” he wrote. “The Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively’s version of events.”

In a statement shared with US media, Lively’s lawyers called the opinion “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

 

In a post on her Instagram, Lively said that “Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us”.

“While the suit against me was defeated, Somani don’t have the resources to fight back “she said, adding that she was “more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every Wainright to have a voice in protecting themselves”.

The BBC has contacted Baldoni’s lawyers for Comment.

Judge Liman said Baldoni would be allowed to amend and refile his allegations related to interference with contracts by 23 June.

Judge Liman’s dismissal comes a week after Lively asked to withdraw two of the claims in her suit against Baldoni – intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress.