'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On Monday, June 9, 2025, the It Ends With Us actress Blake Lively seemingly registered a victory against her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, in the defamation case. According to The New York Times, federal Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed the counter lawsuits that Baldoni had filed against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, as well as the news organization, The New York Times.
After the recent ruling by the US District Court judge in Manhattan brought a major setback for Justin Baldoni, American comedian and podcast host Zack Peter compared the Blake Lively v Justin Baldoni legal battle with the highly publicized 2022 Amber Heard v Johnny Depp defamation trial.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard battled in court in 2022 over an op-ed about surviving domestic violence that the actress wrote for The Washington Post in 2018. According to NBC News, although the essay did not mention Depp’s name, the actor sued her for $50 million in damages. However, in December 2022, via an Instagram post, the Aquaman actress announced that she had settled the defamation case.
Trending
On June 9, 2025, Zack Peter took to the social media platform X and claimed that Amber Heard’s loss taught Blake Lively how to win against her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni in the defamation case.
“Amber Heard lost her defamation lawsuit from Johnny Depp because Amber Heard didn’t have litigation privilege. She didn’t make any of the allegations against Johnny Depp in a formal legal filing. That’s what protected Blake Lively. If anything, Amber Heard taught her how to win this,” Zack Peter claimed.
Zack Peter says Blake Lively was “really smart and strategic” in her legal battle with Justin Baldoni
Zack Peter, in his video post on X, discussed the recent dismissal of Justin Baldoni’s countersuits in his battle with Blake Lively. The media personality noted that the It Ends With Us director has an opportunity to amend his complaint. However, the judge’s latest ruling does not make the actress “innocent” and doesn’t make the actor a “predator.”
“Blake Lively was really smart and strategic about how she made the allegations against Baldoni. Let’s not forget her shady secret Vanzan lawsuit, which is how she obtained his text messages without his knowledge and then leaked those in the New York Times. Or the fact that she brought these allegations in a CRD complaint, forfeiting an investigation, but she published them in the New York Times despite filing a California CRD complaint,” Zack added.
In his X video, the 31-year-old media personality detailed the legal technicalities that allegedly led to Lively’s victory of motion to dismiss her ongoing lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. Zack noted that the actress made the allegations in a legal filing and then granted litigation protection from defamation.
Peter also discussed how Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against The New York Times was dismissed on Monday, June 9, under “legal filing.” He further added:
“It was smart, strategic, in my opinion, evil, but she knew what she was doing and her team knew what they were doing with making those allegations as well, knowing how difficult it is to win a defamation lawsuit.”
Notably, the Blake Lively v Justin Baldoni legal battle started in December 2024 when the actress sued her co-star for s*xual harassment. The actor then filed a $400 million counter-lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, in January 2025. Baldoni accused them of trying to destroy his reputation.
