Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively dismissed

Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Monday the $400 million defamation lawsuit that film director Justin Baldoni had brought against actors Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.

Baldoni alleged that the actress had "falsely" accused him of sexual harassment in an attempt to repair their reputation following the scandal that broke out during the press tour for “It Ends With Us,” starring the two.

In December 2024, The New York Times revealed that Blake Lively had reported Justin Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath for what she claimed were inappropriate behavior and comments during the filming of the movie.

Lively accused the actor, who also directed the film, of improvising kisses that were not in the original script, and the producer of seeing her partially naked in her dressing room after she expressed her discomfort.

Baldoni's counterclaim

In a statement sent to the media, Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer, the production studio for “It Ends With Us,” said the allegations were "completely false, outrageous and deliberately lewd."

In January, Baldoni filed a lawsuit in a New York civil court against the actress, her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times, alleging that the outlet had taken sides in its coverage of “Gossip Girl” star Blake Lively. It was seeking compensation of $400 million.

Lively's legal team moved to dismiss Baldoni's lawsuit in March.

Lively 1-Baldoni 0

Nearly half a year after the filing, the Manhattan District Court dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit, stating that the media outlet had simply published information contained in a lawsuit initially filed by the actress in a California court and had taken it upon itself to solicit a response from the opposing party and include it in the article.

In his lawsuit, Justin Baldoni also alleged that Lively, whose Instagram account has more than 43 million followers, had attempted to "steal" and "take control" of the film and its promotion. He further accused Ryan Reynolds of falsely portraying him as a sexual predator.

Judge Liman still dismissed these allegations on Monday.