On June 9, the legal battle between It Ends With Us co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively took a turn. In a major development, a federal judge dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation, according to NBC.
Shortly after, the Age of Adaline star went to Instagram to celebrate the milestone.
“Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us,” Lively wrote on Instagram Stories. “While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back.”
“I’m more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story,” she continued. “With love and gratitude for the many who stood by me, many of you I know. Many of you I don’t. But I will never stop appreciating or advocating for you.”
But despite Lively celebrating her win, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, fired back.
“Ms. Lively and her team’s predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling,” Freedman said in a statement to TMZ. “While the Court dismissed the defamation-related claims, the Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations.”
IT ENDS WITH US, from left: Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, 2024.
Nicole Rivelli /© Sony Pictures Releasing /Courtesy Everett Collection
“This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively’s own team conveniently describes as ‘untraceable’ because they cannot prove what never happened,” Freedman continued.
“Most importantly, Ms. Lively’s own claims are no truer today than they were yesterday, and with the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle and look forward to her forthcoming deposition, which I will be taking,” he concluded.
As a reminder, Baldoni countersued Lively in January, two weeks after she sued him and his studio, alleging harassment and launching a coordinated smear campaign to ruin her reputation. Baldoni also sued The New York Times for libel after he accused the newspaper of working with Lively to smear him. From the looks of it, their legal battle is far from over.
Before you go, click here to see the most important celebrity lawsuits over the past 15 years.
