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After Blake Lively's lawsuit accused Justin Baldoni of s*xual harassment and retaliation, the latter countersued her, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and more with his own defamation claim. However, Lively now wants to dismiss Baldoni's case, as she recently filed a motion.
Citing the motion to dismiss filed in a New York federal court, an E! News report on Thursday, March 20, 2025, said that the Gossip Girl alum's lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, called Baldoni's lawsuit "vengeful and rambling." They said:
"The Wayfarer Parties' vengeful and rambling lawsuit against Blake Lively is a profound abuse of the legal process that has no splace in federal court."
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In Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit, he accused Lively, Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, Sloane's PR firm, as well as The New York Times of defamation, civil extortion, and false light invasion of privacy.
However, among the other arguments presented by Blake Lively's attorneys in the recent motion to dismiss is that according to California law, there is protection granted for individuals who report allegations of s*xual misconduct against employers.
Citing the state's Assembly Bill 933, which grants legal protection against people making statements if they acted without malice, they want Baldoni's claims dismissed.
Blake Lively's motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni's $400 million countersuit comes after her husband filed the same
On Tuesday, March 18, 2025, Blake Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, filed a separate motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni's case. The latter accused the Deadpool star of calling him a "predator" and of "berating" him. However, Reynolds' attorneys argued in their motion that their client's "predator" comment was "substantially true" because he was acting as a husband "who is 'confident enough to listen' to the woman in his life" and stand with her.
Reynolds' attorneys also mentioned Baldoni's podcast appearances where he shared about allegedly “crossing boundaries” and that Reynolds was "simply pointing out in private what Mr. Baldoni has bragged about in public." They also argued that Baldoni couldn't sue their client over "hurt feelings".
Now, Blake Lively's attorneys are seeking the same defamation case against their client to get dropped. They argued that Baldoni shouldn't be able to weaponize a defamation lawsuit against someone who filed legal claims or has spoken about being a victim of s*xual harassment and retaliation, like their client. They further claimed:
"The right to seek legal redress and the right of the press to report on it are sacred principles that are protected by multiple privileges, including the litigation and fair report privileges, which are absolute."
They also accused Baldoni's legal party of using the defamation lawsuit as another "blunt public relations instrument" in their "sinister campaign to 'bury' and 'destroy'" their client for speaking out about s*xual harassment. That said, the motion mentioned that Baldoni and Wayfarer "have created more liability for themselves".
Per E! News, Baldoni would be required to compensate his It Ends With Us co-star for legal fees and damages if the motion is granted.
Blake Lively's trial against Justin Baldoni, following her allegations of s*xual harassment and retaliation has been scheduled for March 2026.
