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The legal drama surrounding It Ends With Us continues amid a major update in Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against his co-star Blake Lively.
On Monday (June 9), Judge Lewis J. Liman tossed out Baldoni's countersuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds as well as their publicist Leslie Sloane, granting the motion to dismiss the suit filed by Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties that alleged defamation and extortion, per People. Additionally, Baldoni's $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times was also dismissed.
In the opinion and order filing, the judge wrote that the Wayfarer Parties "have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements" other than those in her complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) which are "privileged." Lively filed a complaint in December 2024 accusing her It Ends With Us co-star and director of sexual harassment and retaliation, which Baldoni has denied.
Liman added that the Wayfarer Parties claimed Reynolds and Sloane "made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct" and that the Times "made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign" but that "the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law."
Lively's lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb called Monday's decision a "total victory and a complete vindication" following a "retaliatory lawsuit" and "abusive litigation" that "dragged" the Another Simple Favor actress and others into deeper legal drama.
"As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it," they said in a statement, adding, "we look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys' fees, treble damages and punitive damages" from Wayfarer Parties.
Baldoni's legal team has until June 23 to amend their claims of breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract.