This week marked a major development in regard to the ongoing legal battle between It Ends with Us collaborators Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Lively was handed a major victory by the court this week, as a judge tossed out Baldoni’s $400 million suit against her, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist. Also, the court threw out Baldoni’s $250 million libel suit against The New York Times. Following the decision, Lively’s team responded to the news enthusiastically, and Baldoni’s lawyer is now speaking out.
Blake Lively’s team specifically referred to the removal of the suit “a total victory and a complete vindication” and called Justin Baldoni’s legal filing a “sham.” Attorney Bryan Freedman, who represents Baldoni, shared a statement of his own, which was obtained by People. Freedman chastised Lively and her camp for their “premature declaration of victory,” calling it “false.” As ruled, Baldoni and co. can still amend their claims of breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract. Freedman mentioned that in his message:
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.
Blake Lively filed a legal complaint against Justin Baldoni, who directed and co-starred alongside her in IEWU, as well as his Wayfarer Studios production company. Lively claimed that Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set and that he and his PR team attempted to launch a smear campaign against her. Upon responding, Baldoni denied the allegations and launched the aforementioned lawsuit against the NYT. Eventually, Lively filed suit against her ex-co-star, and Baldoni countersued her.
Ari Emmanuel later discussing his decision to drop the star. Emmanuel also threw his support behind Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds amid what he referred to as a “fucked up, bad situation.” Rumors have also swirled about how Baldoni has handled this situation and, most recently, it was alleged that he was having trouble handling the “financial and emotional weight” of the legal battle.
Justin Baldoni, Bryan Freedman and co. currently have until June 23 to make the aforementioned amendments. At the same time, Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni remains in play and likely won’t go to court until 2026. Lively’s team, as of this writing, has also not responded to Freedman’s assessment of the recently dropped lawsuits.