Movies

Blake Lively’s emotional response after Justin Baldoni’s bombshell $400m countersuit was thrown out

BBG News

The emotional reaction of Blake Lively regarding the dismissal of Justin Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against her has come to light.

In December 2024, the actress filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior on set, which he denied. Later, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios counter-suited Lively, her representative Leslie Sloane, and her husband Ryan Reynolds for defamation.

Baldoni took legal action against The New York Times as well, submitting a lawsuit for approximately $250 million, stemming from their explosive exposé regarding Lively’s accusations of sexual harassment against her previous colleague, which was published on December 31, 2024.

When it was announced that a judge had thrown out Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, the New York Times, Sloane, and her PR firm Vision, an inside source revealed that Lively shed tears of relief upon hearing about the unexpected verdict.

The source disclosed their insights on the reactions of the actress and her husband, Ryan Reynolds: ‘She appears to be greatly relieved. Both of them share this sentiment.’, further mentioning that the entire team surrounding the actress is ‘elated’ about the dismissal.

In simpler terms, Judge Lewis J Liman threw out Baldoni’s lawsuit claiming defamation and extortion because all of Lively’s accusations were part of documents submitted to the court, which are protected by privilege.

According to Liman’s statement as reported by DailyMail.com, the Wayfarer Parties have claimed that Lively is only accountable for the statements made in her CRD complaint, and these particular statements are protected under privilege.

In their claims, the Wayfarer Groups assert that Reynolds and publicist Sloane made extra remarks suggesting Baldoni’s actions were inappropriate sexually, and that The Times also made additional comments implying that the Wayfarer Parties were conducting a defamatory smear campaign.

However, it’s important to note that the Wayfarer Parties haven’t claimed that Reynolds, Sloane, or The Times would have harbored serious doubts about the truth of these statements, given the information they had at their disposal – a condition necessary for them to be held liable for defamation according to the relevant legal standards.

‘Since the extra arguments presented by The Wayfarer Parties are unsuccessful, it is necessary to dismiss the entire Amended Complaint altogether.’

According to the ruling, The Times examined all the relevant evidence and presented their interpretation of the situation, possibly with some dramatic flair. It’s important to note that The Times showed no clear intention to support Lively’s account of the events.

Judge Liman indicated that the Wayfarer Parties can submit a second amended lawsuit by June 23, 2025. However, they are only authorized to revise the accusations related to the claims of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied covenant in this revision.

Representatives for Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios have been reached out to by DailyMail.com for a comment, but no response has been received so far.

Wayfarer Studios was founded by Baldoni and billionaire businessman Steve Sarowitz in 2019. 

A statement from Blake Lively’s legal team shared by DailyMail.com stated that today’s ruling represents a complete triumph and absolute exoneration for Blake Lively, as well as those wrongfully involved in Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties’ retaliatory lawsuit, such as Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane, and The New York Times.

From the very beginning, we made it clear that the $400 million lawsuit was nothing but a fraudulent attempt. The Court, in its wisdom, recognized this deception as well.

We eagerly anticipate the upcoming phase of our case, where we intend to pursue lawyers’ fees, triple compensation, and punitive damages, aimed at Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the rest of the Wayfarer Parties involved in this malicious lawsuit.

Liman also expressed his thoughts regarding the requests made by Lively during the filming of It Ends With Us, aiming to minimize any future discomfort on set. In essence, he said: ‘An employee has the right to demand workplace protections against sexual harassment, even if these measures turn out to be unnecessary. If an employer grants these protections, they cannot then claim to have been unfairly threatened by the employee.’

Furthermore, Liman clarified about the claim that Lively demanded to withhold promoting the film until certain conditions were met, including the release of her share: ‘There’s no claim that Lively was contractually obligated to promote the movie; if she wasn’t, then there’s no ground for assuming that the value she provided by being willing to promote was anything more than a reasonable exchange for the Wayfarer Parties using her cut.’

In my perspective as a devoted follower, the court indicated that while Reynolds and Sloan’s statements, as the court put it, were “extraneous” to the complaint, I, Baldoni, did not provide sufficient facts to prove they were made with actual malice. This means I could not demonstrate that Reynolds and Sloane knew their statements were untrue or acted without concern for their truthfulness.

Last year, a court dispute between Lively and Baldoni ignited following whispers of friction between them. The actress claimed that her co-star had sexually harassed her and launched a counterattack of defamation, charges which Baldoni refuted.

In her legal action, Lively pointed out several individuals who worked with Baldoni as well as their respective entities. These included Wayfarer Studios, the studio’s chief executive officer, a financier, public relations professionals Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel.

In simpler terms, ‘Lively expressed hope that her lawsuit would expose the hidden, harmful strategies used against individuals who report wrongdoing, offering protection to those potentially affected in the future.’

In simpler terms, Baldoni has refuted the claims made by Lively. Meanwhile, Lively, Reynolds, and Sloane have all rejected the allegations that were brought against Baldoni in court.

Baldoni’s group unveiled a website showcasing confidential conversations, like text messages, that were part of legal submissions, shedding light on their dealings with the influential Hollywood duo regarding the production of the romantic film.

In legal documents, he asserted that they attempted to seize control and sabotage his role as the director for It Ends with Us.

Previously, Baldoni’s team stated that the documents filed in court provide a clear insight into the intentions of both parties.

The active website, found at thelawsuitinfo.com, has emerged during a series of prominent lawsuits involving the movie’s creators, whose film enjoyed success at the box office back in August last year.

On December 20th, Lively submitted an extensive 80-page civil rights grievance to the California Civil Rights Authority, preceding the official filing of a federal lawsuit which occurred on December 31st against Baldoni.

In the lawsuit she filed, the former Gossip Girl actress claimed that Baldoni had made inappropriate sexual advances towards her, such as body-shaming and instigating a malicious rumor mill intended to tarnish her image.

Baldoni informed the court that the group fabricated ‘unfounded claims of sexual misconduct’ against him.

In response to the lawsuit, Baldoni and his representatives have stated that Lively distorted the true meaning of text messages exchanged between them and deceived the public regarding their actual film-making interactions.

On June 3rd, it was unveiled by DailyMail.com that Lively, aged 37, withdrew her accusation of intentional and negligent emotional distress infliction against Baldoni.

Following that controversial article on December 21, titled “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Unveiling a Hollywood Slander Network,” I chose to take legal action against the publication for an alleged defamation sum of $250 million. However, they have vehemently denied these accusations.

Ever since Lively lodged her complaint, Baldoni has experienced various career repercussions. For instance, he’s been sued by a former publicist, and his representation agency, WME, which also manages Lively and Reynolds, dropped him.

According to Variety, Variety reports that WME refutes allegations that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively pressured them into removing Baldoni from their list of clients.

The movie titled “It Ends with Us,” featuring Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar, and Kevin McKidd, debuted on August 9 and was a favorite among viewers. Based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, this film raked in $148 million at the domestic box office and an impressive $350 million worldwide, as per Box Office Mojo.

2005 saw Blossom (let’s use a more casual name here) burst onto the scene in the movie “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” alongside Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, and America Ferrera. This breakthrough role paved the way for her prominent part on the television series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012, where she portrayed the lead character Serena van der Woodsen.

Apart from that, she’s been featured in films like “The Town” (released in 2010), “The Shallows” (2016), “A Simple Favor” (2018), and “The Rhythm Section” (2020).

Before writing “It Ends with Us”, Baldoni gained significant recognition for his portrayal of Rafael Solano on the TV series Jane the Virgin from 2014 to 2019. Additionally, he has directed movies such as “Five Feet Apart” in 2019 and “Clouds” in 2020, and authored the book “Man Enough” in 2021, which explores common misunderstandings about modern masculinity.

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2025-06-09 23:07

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