Amid the ongoing legal battle between It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni and actor Blake Lively, a decision on Monday has granted a “total victory” to Lively and her team.
Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni’s multiple lawsuits — including defamation accusations, alleged extortion and other claims against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and against the New York Times.
Judge Liman granted the motion to dismiss the US$400 million (AUD$615 million) lawsuit filed by Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios, finding that Lively and her co-defendants had not defamed Baldoni since their allegations were made only in their legal complaints – that are protected under the US law’s litigation privilege.
The judge noted that Baldoni’s team provided no evidence to suggest that the defendant knowingly made false claims about them.
In the opinion and order filing, Judge Liman stated: “The Wayfarer Parties (Baldoni and his studio) have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her … 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.”
Judge Liman did however allow Baldoni to amend and refile a few allegations regarding interference with the contracts.
Lively’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb said the results were a “total victory and a complete vindication”.
In a statement to the New York Post’s Page Six, they said, “As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it,” adding that “we look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages” from the Wayfarer parties who they say “perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
Baldoni had launched a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the The New York Times, but the judge found that the reporting on the claims was also protected under the “fair report” privilege, which permits media outlets to cover legal proceedings without provoking defamation liability.
Commenting on the latest findings, a spokesperson for The New York Times said in a statement, “We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit against The New York Times for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting.”
“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. We will continue to stand up in court for our journalism and for our journalists when their work comes under attack.”
The judge also found that Lively’s publicist did not defame Baldoni in her dealings with the Daily Mail, finding that she had relied on Lively’s account. Baldoni’s team has not yet commented publicly on the ruling.
The legal saga between Baldoni and Lively started after It Ends With Us premiered in August 2024, with the lead actress filing a complaint against her former director about the conditions on the set of the film.
In December, Lively officially sued director for alleged sexual harassment, breach of contract, retaliation, infliction of emotional distress, lost wages and invasion of privacy.
A trial on Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios is expected to take place in March 2026.
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