A New York judge has dismissed a $400 million (£295 million) defamation lawsuit filed by actor and filmmaker Justin Baldoni against his former “It Ends with Us” co-star Blake Lively.
The pair, who starred together in the 2024 adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, have been embroiled in a months-long legal battle. A trial had initially been scheduled for next year.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit, which accused Lively of defamation, extortion, and other misconduct.
The lawsuit followed a legal complaint Lively filed in December 2024 against Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios. In it, she alleged that she was sexually harassed on set and retaliated against for reporting the behaviour.
Lively also discussed the allegations publicly in a New York Times article published prior to the lawsuit.
In response, Baldoni filed defamation claims not only against Lively but also her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and The New York Times, claiming they aimed to damage his reputation and career.
Baldoni’s lawsuit rested on two main accusations: that Lively “stole the film” from him and Wayfarer by threatening not to promote it, and that she and others spread false claims of sexual assault and a smear campaign.
However, Judge Liman ruled that Baldoni failed to prove these claims constituted unlawful extortion, calling them more akin to “legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions.”
The court also found insufficient grounds for defamation, stating that the “Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements” in her legal filings, which are legally protected.
Baldoni’s $250 million claim against The New York Times was also dismissed. The judge determined that the publication had not acted with “actual malice” in reporting on the allegations.
“The alleged facts indicate that the Times reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatized manner, what it believed to have happened,” he wrote. “The Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively’s version of events.”
In a statement released to U.S. media, Lively’s legal team described the ruling as “a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.”
Lively also addressed the outcome in an Instagram post, writing: “Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us.
While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back.” She added, “I’m more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves.”
Judge Liman granted Baldoni permission to amend and refile specific claims relating to alleged interference with contracts by June 23.
The dismissal comes one week after Lively moved to withdraw two of her own claims against Baldoni — intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress — though she continues to pursue the remainder of her lawsuit.
In her original filing, she said she experienced “severe emotional distress” due to the alleged sexual harassment and smear campaign.
“It Ends with Us,” which stars Lively as Lily Bloom, follows a young woman grappling with the trauma of domestic abuse. The film is based on Hoover’s bestselling novel of the same name.
