Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively have been involved with quite the legal debacle, and now a judge has moved things to a new level, having thrown out the $400 million defamation suit that Justin Baldoni filed against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
As shared via Variety, the judge found “that her accusations of sexual harassment were legally protected and therefore immune from suit.” As a result, “Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni’s entire lawsuit – which also alleged extortion and other claims – but allowed him to amend and refile a couple of allegations regarding interference with contracts.”
Lively’s lawyers shared the following statement regarding the “total victory” for the situation:
“Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times,” the statement begins. “As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
The legal protection allowed the judge to make this ruling is known as “the litigation privilege,” which the outlet explains “immunizes legal claims from defamation actions.” Other privileges mentioned as having an impact on this ruling include the “fair report” privilege.
Justin Baldoni accused Reynolds in the suit for having called him a “sexual predator,” thus the defamation, but the judge noted that this comment was based on Lively’s version of the events, and because he did not have a reason to doubt them, believed it was okay. He additionally applied the same logic to Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane.
Now Lively‘s complaint against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios is being scheduled to take place in March 2026. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively as we have them. The debacle between the two celebrities is far from over, and now that Baldoni had his defamation lawsuit thrown out, we’ll have to see what happens next for him and Lively.