A judge in New York has thrown out Justin Baldoni’s $400M defamation lawsuit against actress Blake Lively. The two worked together on the 2024 film It Ends with Us and had been in a legal dispute for months.
Blake Lively filed a complaint in December 2024. She said she was sexually harassed on set by Baldoni and punished for speaking up. She also shared her story in an article with The New York Times.
In response, Baldoni sued Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, and The New York Times. He claimed they were trying to ruin his name and career. He also stated that Lively attempted to block the film’s promotion to gain control of the project.
Judge Rules Against Justin Baldoni’s $400M Defamation
Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Justin Baldoni’s $400M defamation lawsuit. He said the claims were not strong enough to prove defamation or extortion. According to the judge, Lively’s legal complaint was protected and could not be used to support a defamation case.
The court also said that The New York Times did not act with malice. The judge believed the outlet reviewed the facts and reported the story based on its findings. The article may have been emotional in tone, but it did not break any laws.
Lively’s legal team called the ruling a complete win. They said it cleared Lively, Reynolds, their publicist, and The New York Times from the accusations. Lively posted on Instagram after the ruling. She said retaliatory lawsuits can cause shame and stress. She added that she was lucky to fight back and wanted to keep standing up for women’s rights.
Baldoni has until June 23 to try again by reworking his claims about interference with contracts.
Recently, Lively also dropped two claims from her original lawsuit. These were related to emotional distress. She had said earlier that the alleged harassment deeply affected her mental health.
It Ends With Us is based on a popular book by Colleen Hoover. Lively plays Lily Bloom, a woman trying to break the cycle of abuse she witnessed as a child.