Reportedly, the actors have formally informed a federal judge that they will move to dismiss Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit.
The legal conflict between It Ends With Us co-stars took a new turn. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
The legal conflict between It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has taken a new turn, as Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, have formally informed a federal judge that they will move to dismiss Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit. The couple’s legal team reportedly filed the notice on Thursday, following a procedural directive from Judge Lewis Liman on how the case will proceed. This development comes after Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit earlier this month, accusing Lively of attempting to “destroy” him with unfounded sexual misconduct allegations.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, also involves Ryan Reynolds, Blake’s publicist Leslie Sloane, and her PR company, Vision PR. Baldoni’s lawsuit claims defamation, extortion, and invasion of privacy. On Baldoni’s side, his production company, Wayfarer Studios, and some key people, including CEO Jamey Heath and PR reps Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, are also named in the case, according to Rolling Stone.
Baldoni’s lawsuit came in response to Lively’s prior complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department, where she accused him of sexually harassing her on set and orchestrating a smear campaign against her. Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, pushed back against these allegations, calling them a calculated effort to “fix her negative reputation.” Lively escalated the matter further by filing an official lawsuit on December 31.
With tensions high, a pretrial conference is set for February 3, aiming to address legal conduct and media exposure. In a letter to the court, Lively and Reynolds’ attorneys previously accused Baldoni’s camp of making inflammatory statements to the press and using a website to publicise what they described as “strategically selected documents and communications” between Lively and Baldoni in an attempt to sway public opinion.
Freedman, however, remains defiant. In a statement to Rolling Stone, he said, “All these motions to dismiss are just yet another attempt by Ms. Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Leslie Sloan to hide and delay the discovery of the hundreds of pages of true facts and well-documented information that we remain dedicated to providing publicly, with full transparency. We expect such motions to be denied and, in the meantime, stand ready to oppose each and every one of them.”
As the legal showdown continues, Judge Liman has scheduled the trial to begin on March 9, 2026, ensuring that this high-profile dispute won’t be fading from the headlines anytime soon.
