The legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, which pertains to the production of their film It Ends With Us, has continued to capture headlines. Lively originally sued Baldoni, claiming that her co-star, and the director of the film, committed sexual harassment as well as a litany of other offenses. Baldoni then countersued not only Lively but also her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, and the New York Times (in a separate suit), which originally broke the story of Lively's complaint. Now, however, only one lawsuit is moving forward.
A Judge Dismisses Justin Baldoni's Lawsuits
Earlier today, a judge completely dismissed Baldoni's entire $400 million libel lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. In the decision, Judge Lewis J. Liman (via Page Six) states that Lively herself is not accused of making any potentially libelous statements outside of her original complaint, which is legally protected. Baldoni's $250 million suit against the NYT has also been dismissed.
Regarding the statements that Reynolds and The New York Times allegedly made, the judge ruled that there was a legal requirement that the parties making the statements must have reasonably doubted the truth of their statements, and Baldoni's suits failed to allege that. While the $400 million suit has been dismissed, the judge has given Baldoni's legal team until June 23 to amend their complaint for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract.
This situation began with Blake Lively filing a legal complaint against Justin Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios. She not only make claims of sexual harassment but also claimed Baldoni and his team launched a smear campaign against her. Baldoni and co. subsequently denied the allegations. Eventually, their respective suits were filed, with Baldoni suing Lively, Reynolds and over alleged defamation, extortion and more.
Justin Baldoni's Lawsuit Included Accusations Related To Deadpool & Wolverine
Justin Baldoni's lawsuit included a litany of claims that were leveled against the aforementioned celebrity couple. It included the accusation that the character of "Nicepool," a version of Deadpool played by Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool & Wolverine, had been a thinly veiled caricature of Baldoni. As such, there were many questions regarding whether other major celebrities, like Hugh Jackman, might be roped into the lawsuit.
This latest development leaves Lively's original suit as the last lawsuit standing in this situation. It's worth mentioning, though, that none of this is set to go to court for another year. In any case, the tossing of the lawsuit marks a major victory for Lively and co. In a statement to PageSix, the actress' legal team wrote...
As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it.
As of this writing, Justin Baldoni's camp has yet to publicly respond to the ruling. So it's unclear if there are plans to refile the lawsuit as the judge has allowed.