Blake Lively has released an emotional statement after a judge dropped Justin Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against her.
The exp;osive counstersuit filed by baldoni in early 2025 targeted Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane, and The New York Times, after the Gossip Girl alum accused the 41-year-old of sexual harassment on the set of their movie, It Ends With Us.
Baldoni, who was the director of the movie,denied the allegationsnd claimed in court that his co-star attempted to seize control of the production of the film and engaged in actions that harmed his career and reputation.
But now, a federal judge has ruled that the 37-year-old actress’s claims were made within protected court filings and dismissed the Jane the Virgin star’s entire lawsuit.
In an emotional Instagram post following the June 3 ruling, the mom-of-four opened up about the pressure and “manufactured shame” she says she faced during the legal battle.
“Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organizations united in defending women’s rights to speak up for their safety,” she wrote. “Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us.”
While acknowledging her own legal victory, she noted the bigger picture: “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.”
The A Simple Favour star wrapped up the post by thanking those in the public who have supported her amid the turbulent past year.
“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,” she added.
U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman slammed the door shut on Baldoni’s case. In his order, Liman wrote: “The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged… Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety,” Daily Mail reported.
He also clarified that while Lively, Reynolds, and Sloane had made statements outside court filings, Baldoni failed to prove those statements were made with “actual malice” – the legal standard for defamation cases involving public figures.
Lively’s legal team said in a statement: “Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane, and The New York Times.
“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it,” they added.
Though the defamation case is dead, the court granted Baldoni’s team until June 23 to amend their lawsuit on narrow claims of “tortious interference with contract” and “breach of implied covenant.”
Liman also addressed the filmmaker’s claim that Lively made coercive demands on set. “Even if they turn out to be unneeded, an employee can insist on protections at workplace for sexual harassment without being accused of extortion,” he wrote.
Among those alleged on set demands was: “No more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight and no further mention of Blake’s dead father,” per The independent
In a blow to Baldoni’s case, the judge also granted Marvel Entertainment’s motion to quash a subpoena issued by Baldoni’s team.
They had bizarrely claimed that a character named “Nicepool” in Deadpool & Wolverine was created to “mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate or bully” Baldoni.
This legal brawl blew up after Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint in December 2024, accusing Baldoni of sexually harassing her and orchestrating a campaign to ruin her career.
The two had worked together on It Ends With Us, a box office hit that grossed $350 million worldwide. Lively starred as Lily Bloom while Baldoni played her partner Ryle and directed the film.
Behind-the-scenes tensions had long been rumored, and Lively’s court filings accused Baldoni of crossing serious boundaries on set, from body shaming to discussing his past sexual experiences in front of her.
Baldoni has publicly denied all accusationss, claiming in court that Lively twisted text messages and misled the public. His team even launched a website, thelawsuitinfo.com, that published private messages and legal documents in an effort to clear his name.
Before the dismissal of his countersuit, he also sued The New York Times for $250 million after it published a scathing exposé about Lively’s original claims. The newspaper has denied all allegations.
The director’s career has taken a hit, including being dropped by his agency, WME, which also represents Lively and Reynolds. WME, however, denied that the couple had anything to do with that decision.
