Justin Baldoni Loses Massive Lawsuit Against Blake Lively

Justin Baldoni‘s $400 million extortion and defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds has officially been dismissed.

via: Complex

Justin Baldoni’s massive $400 million extortion and defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds has officially been shut down after the It Ends With Us director missed a court-imposed deadline to amend his claims.

In a new order signed on October 31, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman of the Southern District of New York ruled that Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios co-plaintiffs let their opportunity to revive the case lapse, effectively ending their legal fight. Judge Liman noted that the plaintiffs “failed to respond” to an October 17 order asking why final judgment shouldn’t be entered, prompting the court to formally close the case.

The dismissal comes after the court originally tossed Baldoni’s complaint in June, finding that his defamation allegations lacked merit. At the time, Judge Liman ruled that statements cited in Baldoni’s lawsuit, many drawn from Lively’s sexual harassment complaint and a related New York Times story, were protected under litigation and reporting privileges.

While the judge’s latest order ends Baldoni’s defamation and extortion claims against Lively, Reynolds, and The New York Times, he retains the right to appeal the judgment once the court resolves motions related to Lively’s request to recoup legal fees.

Baldoni first filed his $400 million suit in January 2025, calling it a “counterattack” in what’s become one of Hollywood’s ugliest legal battles. Lively sued Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation during the production of It Ends With Us, in which she co-starred opposite the actor and director.

Lively’s complaint alleged that Baldoni engaged in “disturbing” conduct on set — including an incident during a quiet filming sequence where he “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear down her neck,” reportedly saying, “It smells so good.” She also claimed Baldoni pushed to include an explicit sex scene and made invasive comments about her and Reynolds’ private life.

After Lively’s lawsuit became public, Baldoni accused her, Reynolds, and The New York Times of orchestrating a smear campaign to destroy his reputation. His complaint cited The Times’ December 2024 story “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” which detailed Lively’s initial filing with California’s Civil Rights Department.

Judge Liman dismissed those defamation claims in June, agreeing with Lively’s and Reynolds’ lawyers that the allegations were protected speech. “The Times’ statements were privileged,” the court noted. Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Baldoni remains ongoing in Manhattan federal court, ensuring that the high-stakes legal feud between the co-stars is far from over.

In a statement earlier this year, a New York Times spokesperson said, “We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting.”