The It Ends With Us legal battle continues as star Blake Lively has asked a judge to dismiss a countersuit filed by her co-star Justin Baldoni, calling his claims “vengeful and rambling,” after she filed a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment and retaliation.
On Thursday, Lively’s lawyers wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that Baldoni and his production company’s claims they were defamed were a “profound abuse of the legal process.”
“The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation,” the lawyers said.
“The right to seek legal redress and the right of the press to report on it are sacred principles that are protected by multiple privileges, including the litigation and fair report privileges, which are absolute,” they added.
Lively’s legal team also referred to Baldoni’s lawsuit as part of a “sinister campaign to bury and destroy” her for speaking out about sexual harassment against him.
Her lawyers invoked a California law that protects sexual harassment accusers, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed, in response to defamation lawsuits brought on during the #MeToo movement. Lively’s lawyers said the law entitles her to claim legal fees and damages from Baldoni once his suit is thrown out.
“In other words, in an epic self-own, the Wayfarer Parties have created more liability for themselves by their malicious efforts to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion,’” the motion states.
Lively sought unspecified damages when she sued Baldoni in late December for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. He countersued for $400 million, accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion.
In a statement on Thursday, Lively’s lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said Lively “suffered greatly” by speaking up about the alleged harassment.
“The painful reality is that Ms. Lively is not alone in being sued for defamation after speaking up about being sexually harassed at work,” Lively’s lawyers said. “While Ms. Lively has suffered greatly by speaking up and pursuing legal claims, it is important for other people to know that they have protections and that there is a specific law that expressly protects them from being silenced or financially ruined by a defamation lawsuit because they had the courage to speak up.”
Baldoni’s lawyers were quick to respond to Lively’s attempt to dismiss his lawsuit against her, referring to her actions as “abhorrent.”
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“Ms. Lively’s recent motion to dismiss herself from the self-concocted disaster she initiated is one of the most abhorrent examples of abusing our legal system,” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement.
“Stringent rules are put into place to protect the innocent and allow individuals to rightfully defend themselves. Laws are not meant to be twisted and curated by privileged elites to fit their own personal agenda,” Freedman added.
Freedman said they will “continue to hold Ms. Lively accountable for her actions of pure malice, which include falsely accusing my clients of harassment and retaliation.”
“Her fantastical claims will be swiftly debunked as discovery moves forward, easily disproved with actual, evidentiary proof,” Freedman said.
Lively’s latest motion comes days after lawyers for Reynolds filed papers in the countersuit requesting to be dismissed from Baldoni’s $400 million civil extortion and defamation complaint.
Baldoni was dropped by his agency, WME, which also represents Lively. His suit alleges that Reynolds was responsible for this after he approached a WME executive at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere and “expressed his deep disdain for Baldoni, suggesting the agency was working with a ‘sexual predator.’”
“The entirety of plaintiffs’ defamation claim appears to be based on two times that Mr. Reynolds allegedly called Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator,’” the filing read. (Global News has not independently reviewed the documents.)
“But, the FAC alleges no plausible facts that suggest Mr. Reynolds did not believe this comment to be true; instead, the relevant FAC allegations suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr. Baldoni’s behavior is reflective of a ‘predator,’” the filing added.
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Reynolds’ legal team questioned the actor’s relevance to the suit beyond his role as “a supportive spouse who has witnessed firsthand the emotional, reputational and financial devastation Ms. Lively has suffered.”
Freedman responded to Reynolds’ filing in a statement provided to CNN. “After lighting a match, Mr. Reynolds now seeks to run from the flames. It won’t work,” Freedman said.
“Mr. Reynolds was a key player in the scheme, defaming Justin around Hollywood, strong-arming WME into dropping Justin as a client, and trying to destroy Justin’s career however possible,” the statement said.
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“His fingerprints have been all over this smear campaign against Justin and the Wayfarer team since day one. Mr. Reynolds now attempts to reduce plainly cognizable claims to ‘hurt feelings,’ sending a clear message that bullying is acceptable,” Freedman continued.
“Mr. Reynolds can appear on as many sketch shows as he wants and feebly try to make light of his current situation, but we will not stop until he is held accountable for his actions,” the statement added, seemingly referencing Reynolds’ appearance on the 50th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live in February.
Baldoni sued his co-star Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48, for defamation in January. That lawsuit came the same day that Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel, alleging the paper worked with Lively to smear him.
Since the legal battle began, Baldoni’s legal team made text messages from Lively and Reynolds public on a website, titled The Lawsuit Info, created to help defend himself.
On the website, published in early February, Baldoni, 41, also shared an amended complaint in his case against Lively, Reynolds, Lively’s PR firm and the New York Times, as well as a 168-page document called, “Timeline of relevant events,” related to the case and the production of the film.
The timeline includes emails and text messages that were allegedly sent leading up to and during the movie’s filming.
Lively and Baldoni’s case headed to court on Feb. 3, as the Gossip Girl actor’s legal team began to discuss a potential gag order.
A U.S. judge reminded lawyers for Baldoni and Lively not to publicly discuss the actors’ competing civil lawsuits.
At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, Gottlieb, Lively’s lawyer, complained to Judge Lewis Liman that Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, violated professional ethics rules for lawyers by accusing Lively of “bullying.”
“It’s very hard to un-ring the bell,” Gottlieb said, arguing that such statements could taint the jury pool for the scheduled March 9, 2026 trial.
Freedman suggested that his comments to People magazine and in a podcast appearance were a response to the Dec. 21, 2024 New York Times article that “completely devastated” Baldoni.
“This has not been a one-way street,” he said.
Liman adopted a New York state rule barring most out-of-court statements that could affect a case’s outcome, except for protecting a client from prejudicial adverse publicity.
The judge could sanction lawyers for violations. Neither Gottlieb nor Freedman objected.
— With files from The Associated Press
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