Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively have been at a legal crossroads since December 2024. The latest development comes after Blake Lively's legal team sought to have the case against the All I See is You actress dismissed in court. Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman responded to the move in a statement to the People Magazine. He said:
"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."
The entire legal drama began when the It Ends with Us actress sued Baldoni and other members of the production team, accusing them of sexual harassment and running a smear campaign to allegedly damage her reputation.
Soon after, Justin Baldoni responded with a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
According to People Magazine, Blake Lively's legal team, in a statement filed on March 20 requested that Justin Baldoni's lawsuit be dismissed by the court. Their statement reads:
"This lawsuit is a profound abuse of the legal process that has no place in federal court. California law now expressly prohibits suing victims who speak out against sexual harassment or retaliation, whether in a lawsuit or in the press.
The statement further reads:
This meritless and retaliatory lawsuit faces three insurmountable legal obstacles, including the litigation, fair report, and sexual harassment privileges. In an epic self-own, the Wayfarer Parties’ attempt to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ has only created more liability for them—deservedly so, given their actions.”
Justin Baldoni's lawyer responds to the calls for case dismissal
Justin Baldoni's lawyer is now accusing Lively's legal team of attempting to undermine the law and deprive Baldoni's chance to defend himself against the accusations.
In the same statement given to People Magazine, Freedman said,
“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 also stated:
"As we said yesterday in response to Mr. Reynolds' same cowardly measures, we 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.”
The response was also a direct attack on Ryan Reynolds, whose legal team is also attempting to have the Man Enough actor's case dismissed. According to People Magazine, the statement from Reynolds' lawyer read:
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"The entirety of Mr. Baldoni’s case appears to be based on Mr. Reynolds allegedly privately calling Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator,’ but here’s the problem — that is not defamation unless they can show that Mr. Reynolds did not believe that statement to be true. The complaint doesn’t allege that. In fact, it suggests the opposite: that Mr. Reynolds genuinely believes Mr. Baldoni is a predator.”
The case is slated to go on trial on March 9, 2026.
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