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Blake Lively's lawyers recently accused Justin Baldoni's team of using "scorched earth litigation" tactics in an attempt to subdue alleged victims of s*xual harassment from coming forward.
According to a 2018 blog post by Manhattan Beach lawyer Ron Sokol on Daily Breeze, "scorched earth litigation" refers to a legal tactic or conduct used by a party to wear down their opponent by being relentless.
This may include filing motions or requesting discovery that isn't necessarily needed to draw out the legal proceedings in an attempt to overwhelm the opponent and drain their money and resources. The tactic was reportedly named after General Sherman’s military campaign.
Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, Lively's attorneys, said in a statement to Us Weekly on April 10:
“The chilling message scorched earth litigation sends to victims is stay silent or be destroyed. As demonstrated in the reply brief Ms. Lively filed today, the Wayfarer Parties’ attempt to slap Ms. Lively with a retaliatory lawsuit for her decision to speak out against the sexual harassment she experienced on set has not only failed miserably but exposes them to substantial economic damages."
The statement continued:
"Ms. Lively will continue to show all victims that they are not alone, that they do not have to stay silent, and that the law is on their side.”
Blake Lively's team accuse Baldoni of trying to “tear down” laws that protect victims
In their recent statement to Us Weekly, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb accused Justin Baldoni of trying to "tear down" the laws that protected victims of s*xual harassment and assault through his lawsuit, saying:
“Mr. Baldoni has gone from monetizing a brand devoted to believing and supporting women, to leading the charge to tear down the very law that protects women who come forward about sexual assault, harassment and discrimination. California’s sexual harassment privilege, AB 933, was enacted to stop perpetrators of sexual harassment from abusing defamation lawsuits to sue their accusers into oblivion.”
The statement also claimed that Baldoni's team had "tied themselves in knots" trying to prove their defamation claim against Blake Lively, adding:
“Wayfarer Parties have tied themselves in knots trying to state a defamation claim against Ms. Lively that is not barred by the statute of limitations or wholly contained within her Legal Complaints, which they concede cannot form the basis of any actionable claims.”
For the uninitiated, the legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively began in December 2024, after the latter accused the former of s*xual harassment while filming It Ends With Us. Blake Lively also alleged that Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign against her during the movie's press run to ruin her reputation.
Following this, Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing the A-list couple of attempting to hijack his movie. Leslie Sloane, Lively's publicist, and her firm were also named as defendants in the defamation lawsuit alongside the couple.
Blake Lively filed a motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit
On March 20, Blake Lively filed a motion to dismiss her co-star's defamation lawsuit, alleging it was "vengeful and rambling."
"The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation," the court documents read.
On April 3, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, responded to Lively's motion to dismiss his client's lawsuit, accusing the actress of setting a "dangerous precedent" by preventing this client's First Amendment right to a fair trial.
“Ms. Lively and her circle of Hollywood elites cannot prevent my clients from exercising their constitutional right to petition the court to clear their names from her false and harmful claims. What Ms. Lively is attempting to do is to set a dangerous precedent by barring the courthouse doors to my clients and punishing them for having their day in court, a right protected by the First Amendment,” his statement read.
Lively's motion was filed two days after Ryan Reynolds filed a similar motion. In his motion to dismiss, Reynolds claimed he had no involvement in It Ends With Us, adding that he only played his part as a "supportive spouse" for his wife. He also claimed that Baldoni's defamation lawsuit was solely due to "hurt feelings" and did not hold any merit.
According to CNN, the motion to dismiss also addressed the claim that Reynolds had allegedly defamed Baldoni by calling the director a "predator" (as mentioned in Baldoni's lawsuit). The filing stated that the Deadpool actor truly believed Baldoni's behavior to be "reflective of a ‘predator,’" adding that “calling someone a ‘predator’ amounts to a constitutionally protected opinion.”
In February, Leslie Sloane also filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against her and her firm, Vision PR.
The legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is ongoing, with the trial scheduled for March 2026.
