Joshua Goldman
Joshua Goldman
min read · June 25, 2025 · Entertainment

Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni: Legal Drama Takes a Surprising Turn

The theater of battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni just narrowed with the announcement that he will not be amending the claims in his $400 million defamation lawsuit; pictured in August 2024 in NYC

HOLLYWOOD DRAMA ALERT!

The epic battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has just reached a new level of intensity, with Baldoni's team announcing that they will not be amending their $400 million defamation lawsuit against the actress. This decision comes after a judge dismissed the original lawsuit, but gave Baldoni's team a second chance to revise and refile it.

But don't get it twisted, folks! Despite this setback, the drama between these two Hollywood heavyweights is far from over. In fact, it's about to get even juicier!

On Tuesday, his attorney Bryan Freedman announced that Baldoni would not be amending any of his complaints in the tossed-out lawsuit. Lively's initial sexual harassment lawsuit is still proceeding; pictured June 9 in NYC

According to sources close to the case, Baldoni's team was given until June 23rd to amend their lawsuit, but they've decided not to take advantage of this opportunity. Instead, they're opting to pursue "additional legal options" that are available to them.

But what does this mean for Blake Lively? Well, it looks like she's still got a few tricks up her sleeve. Her team has been busy sending out new subpoenas, and things are about to get real!

THE DRAMA UNFOLDS

'The Court’s decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign,' Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement to DailyMail.com; pictured in December 2023 in NYC

So, what exactly is going on here? Let's take a step back and remind ourselves of the original drama between these two. It all started when Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.

Baldoni denied these allegations, but things took a turn for the worse when he filed his $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane.

The lawsuit claimed that Lively had engaged in "civil extortion" by threatening to not promote It Ends With Us unless her cut was released. But, according to the judge's ruling, this claim was totally baseless!

'Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations,' he continued. 'Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us'; seen in December in NYC

THE JUDGE SPEAKS

In his 132-page opinion, Judge Lewis J. Liman broke down the allegations made by Baldoni and declared them "without merit." He even went so far as to say that Lively had a right to insist on protections against sexual harassment on set without being accused of extortion!

But that's not all - the judge also denied requests from Reynolds, Sloane, and Vision PR for attorney's fees and costs. And let's just say that Blake Lively is feeling pretty good about this development...

Despite her initial win when Baldoni's lawsuit was thrown out, Lively hasn't been slowing down. Last week, she sent additional subpoenas flying; Baldoni pictured on Today in August 2024

BLAKE LIVELY'S TEAM IS FIGHTING BACK

In a statement to The Scholarly Note.com, a spokesperson for Lively said: "The Court dismissed the frivolous $400 million Baldoni-Wayfarer lawsuit in its entirety. In the days that followed, Baldoni's lawyer said the judge's decision to dismiss their case was not a big deal as they promised to amend and refile it. As per usual, that was not true."

It looks like Blake Lively is still standing strong against Justin Baldoni's allegations!

Judge Lewis J. Limon previously dismissed Baldoni's suit alleging defamation and extortion on the basis that all her allegations were made within privileged court papers; Lively pictured in It Ends With Us

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THESE TWO?

With this latest development, it seems like the drama between these two will continue to play out in court. But what does this mean for their professional careers?

Well, let's just say that things are about to get interesting! After being dropped by WME and facing a lawsuit from a former publicist, Justin Baldoni is definitely feeling the heat.

In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni's collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio's CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel; Baldoni is pictured with wife Emily in 2020 in West Hollywood

As for Blake Lively, she's still going strong after her huge success with It Ends With Us. But will this drama affect her future projects?

Only time will tell, folks!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES!

Lively and Baldoni's film It Ends With Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences

This isn't the last you've heard of this epic battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni! Stay tuned for more updates as this story continues to unfold.

Sources:

  • The Scholarly Note.com
  • Court documents obtained by The Scholarly Note.com