Blake Lively isn’t giving up in her high-stakes fight with Justin Baldoni. In a shocking turn of events, a judge in Los Angeles threw out Justin Baldoni’s defamation case against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and others involved in the explosive “It Ends With Us” lawsuit saga. This decision is a big win for Lively in the middle of the ongoing “Hollywood lawsuit update” that has fans and tabloids alike on the edge of their seats.
Lively and Baldoni are in court because of problems on the set of the 2024 hit movie It Ends With Us. Lively says Baldoni, who directed and starred opposite her, made the workplace toxic. Baldoni responded with a $400 million defamation lawsuit, claiming that Lively’s camp was spreading false information about him. But on Friday, Judge David J. Cowan threw out important claims, saying that Baldoni’s team didn’t show that Lively’s public statements were actually malicious.
Lively didn’t waste any time celebrating the win on Instagram. She posted a fiery message that said, “We did it. Justice served… but this isn’t over.” “I’ll keep fighting for what’s right.” Her words show that there is still a lot of tension in this “celebrity legal battle,” since Lively’s separate sexual harassment claims against Baldoni’s production company are still open.
- Case Dropped: Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and the PR firm Shine for defamation was thrown out without prejudice.
- It Ends With Us Backlash: The movie made $350 million at the box office, but people called for a boycott because of the fight.
- Next Steps: Lively’s counterclaims will go to trial, and Baldoni can file new complaints.
Sources close to the production tell that the fight got worse because of creative differences, such as Lively’s push for a less “dark” tone in the adaptation of domestic violence. Baldoni’s lawyers say the dismissal is just a matter of procedure and promise to file stronger claims soon.
