Justin Baldoni has opted not to refile claims in his countersuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
The news comes weeks after Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48. Baldoni’s countersuit came after Lively accused her It Ends With Us costar and director, 41, of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and creating a smear campaign against her following their work on the 2024 film.
The judge noted at the time that Baldoni could still amend his claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract in regard to Lively but had to do so by Monday, June 23.
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Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman revealed to People on Tuesday, June 24, that the actor and director will forgo the option to submit any amendments. Instead, Baldoni will focus on his and Lively’s upcoming trial surrounding her December 2024 lawsuit against him for his alleged misconduct.
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“The Court’s decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign, and it does not in any way affect our vigorous defense against Ms. Lively’s claims,” Freedman said in a statement.
The attorney continued: “Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations. Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us.”
A spokesperson for Lively responded to legal update, telling Us Weekly in a statement on Tuesday, “The Court dismissed the frivolous $400 million Baldoni-Wayfarer lawsuit in its entirety. In the days that followed, Baldoni’s lawyer said the judge’s decision to dismiss their case was not a big deal as they promised to amend and refile it. As per usual, that was not true. The Court’s dismissal of Baldoni’s sham lawsuit was a total victory after all.”
Additionally, a source close to the matter told Us, “First it wasn’t over when the judge dismissed their lawsuit in entirety because Bryan Freedman promised they will amend and refile — and now it’s not over cause they are pursuing other legal options. At some point even their own supporters have to realize they are being led astray.”
Months after It Ends With Us hit theaters in August 2024, Lively, who was also a producer on the film, accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and orchestrating an alleged smear campaign against her in a lawsuit filed that December.
Baldoni denied all allegations against him and filed a countersuit that same month in which he accused Lively, Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane of extortion, defamation and more. (Lively and Reynolds denied the claims as did Sloane.)
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Baldoni also filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times for its coverage of Lively’s initial complaint against him.
Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and Sloane on June 9. He also dismissed the case against The New York Times.
“Ms. Lively and her team’s predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling,” Baldoni’s attorney Freedman told Us in a statement on June 10. “While the Court dismissed the defamation-related claims, the Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations. This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively’s own team conveniently describes as ‘untraceable’ because they cannot prove what never happened.”
He alleged, “Most importantly, Ms. Lively’s own claims are no truer today than they were yesterday, and 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, which I will be taking. We are grateful for the organic show of support from the public and for the dedication of the Internet sleuth community who continue to cover the case with discernment and integrity.”
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Lively’s lawyers, meanwhile, were thrilled with the result, telling Us in a statement, “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.”
Attorneys Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb continued: “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.”
While Lively’s team was pleased with the judge’s ruling, they continued to fight for Taylor Swift’s communication with the actress to be protected from being used in the main trial. (Swift’s song “My Tears Ricochet” was used in It Ends With Us, but Swift didn’t have any role in production. She was initially subpoenaed by Baldoni’s team but the court order was later dismissed.)
Liman denied Lively’s motion for a protective order of Swift’s exchanges, texts with Lively, stating that Baldoni’s team has a right to see them — but only in regard to the film.
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A spokesperson for Lively responded to the ruling in a statement to Us, writing, “The Court outright denied the Wayfarer Parties’ motion to compel documents from Ms. Lively, who has produced far more documents in this case than the Wayfarer Parties combined. Further, the Court’s protective order ruling rests on the Wayfarer Parties’ admission that they received nothing from Taylor Swift, which is exactly the opposite of what their ‘insider’ claimed two weeks ago.”
The statement continued, “As for the rest, Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties demanded access to Taylor Swift’s private communications — despite having already subpoenaed and then withdrawn that subpoena. Baldoni’s desire to drag Taylor Swift into this has been constant dating back to August 2024, when the crisis PR firm led by Melissa Nathan included her in their ‘Scenario Planning’ document (Lively Amended Complaint, Exhibit D), referred to her as a bully, and called for a strategy to influence the ‘TS fanbase’ (Lively Amended Complaint, 214(b)). We will continue to call out Baldoni’s relentless efforts to exploit Ms Swift’s popularity, which from day one has been nothing more than a distraction from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation accusations he and the Wayfarer parties are facing.”
Lively and Baldoni’s trial is scheduled for March 2026.
Us Weekly
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