Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's legal battle took a major turn in recent days after the It Ends With Us director's countersuit against the actress was dismissed by a judge.
Justin and his production company Wayfarer Studios countersued Blake days after she claimed that he had harassed her on set and engaged in a smear campaign to discredit her after filming wrapped.
A blow for Justin
© GettyThe 41-year-old sued Blake, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and her husband Ryan Reynolds for defamation, and launched another suit against The New York Times after they released a tell-all detailing Blake's claims against Justin in December 2024.
The $400 million countersuit was dismissed in court, with Judge Lewis J Liman explaining that Blake's allegations were made within privileged court papers and as such were not defamatory.
"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 judge declared in his ruling.
© Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images"The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and 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."
The ruling continued: "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," he added.
© USWHe also ruled that the Times had fairly reported on the event with the information they were provided, although "perhaps in a dramatized manner".
"The Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively's version of events," the judge said, adding that ultimately, "Lively, Sloane, and Reynolds have the better of the argument."
Justin's team can file an amended complaint before June 23, 2025.
Blake's relief
© GettyThe mother of four's lawyers released a statement detailing their client's immense relief after the ruling, sharing that it was a "total victory" for her.
"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," they said. "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."
© GC ImagesAs for the Times, their spokesperson shared that the publication was "grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit…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," they declared.
Blake's allegations of harassment on set come from their time filming It Ends With Us together in 2023 and 2024, followed by a frosty press tour and claims that the blonde bombshell had tried to take creative control of the film from Justin, the flick's director.
To learn more about the ongoing legal battle, watch below...
