Neither Blake Lively nor Justin Baldoni are backing down in their high-stake legal battle, with pointed remarks flying from both sides, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats.
- Mar 21, 2025
AceShowbiz - The explosive legal battle between Blake Lively and actor-director Justin Baldoni continue, with both stars firing pointed remarks at each other through their legal representatives.
On March 20, Lively's attorneys, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, filed a motion to dismiss Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against her. They labelled the lawsuit "vengeful and rambling" and accused Baldoni of launching a "sinister campaign to bury and destroy" Lively for speaking out about sexual harassment and retaliation.
Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, quickly responded, calling Lively's motion to dismiss "abhorrent" and an example of how laws are being "twisted and curated by privileged elites to fit their own personal agenda."
The legal battle traces back to December 2024 when Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign during the production of "It Ends With Us."
In January, Baldoni fired back with a defamation lawsuit not just against Lively, but also her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, and The New York Times who published Lively's initial complaint.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, overseeing the cases, has hinted that Baldoni's suit against The New York Times might not succeed, emphasizing the journalistic nature of their involvement.
Reynolds has also filed his own motion to dismiss the defamation claims against him, insisting his comments about Baldoni being a "predator" were "not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true."
Baldoni's lawyer fired back, accusing Reynolds of trying to "run from the flames" after igniting them. "Mr. Reynolds was a key player in the scheme, defaming Justin around Hollywood, strong-arming WME into dropping Justin as a client, and trying to destroy Justin's career however possible," he said.
The stakes are high, as both parties aim to vindicate their reputations. Lively is seeking unspecified triple and punitive damages for the alleged harm caused by Baldoni and his colleagues. The trial is scheduled for March 2026, and as discovery moves forward, both sides prepare for what promises to be a revealing and dramatic courtroom clash.
