Did Justin Baldoni withdraw his lawsuit against Blake Lively? Zack Peter believe actor might "appeal" his care amid "disappointing" update

On June 25, 2025, American comedian and podcaster Zack Peter expressed disappointment over Justin Baldoni reportedly dropping his claims against his It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively, by choosing not to file an amended complaint within the deadline.

"All right, we got some major breaking news, and it is disappointing to report that Justin Baldoni is no longer suing Blake Lively," Peter remarked.

For the unversed, Justin Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit on January 16, 2025, for defamation and civil extortion against Lively, her husband, and her publicist Leslie Sloane in response to Lively's lawsuit filed on December 20, 2024. Lively's lawsuit accused Baldoni of sexual assault and of orchestrating a smear campaign against her, as reported by CNN.

He also filed a separate $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times on December 31, 2024, after the outlet published an article expanding on Lively's claims.

Subsequently, on June 9, 2025, Judge Liman, who is presiding over the ongoing case between Lively and Baldoni, dismissed both of Baldoni's lawsuits. However, he noted that Baldoni could file a second amended complaint for "breach of implied covenant" and "tortious interference with contract" by June 23, 2025.

Despite that opportunity, Baldoni dropped his claims by choosing not to file a second amended complaint against Lively. Baldoni's chief attorney confirmed this in a statement to People Magazine, published on June 24.

Reflecting on Baldoni's legal team's decision, Peter claimed that he felt the claims of "breach of implied covenant" and "tortious interference with contract" were not strong enough, and due to that, Freedman must have decided not to amend the complaint.

Peter further divulged the potential legal strategy of Baldoni's team, speculating that they could be setting themselves up for an appeal.

"Now, what could be the potential reason with the potential legal strategy? It could be possible that Baldoni is setting himself up for an appeal. Now, if he were to have filed a second amended complaint, he would take an appeal off the table, whereas at least now, he still has an opportunity to appeal it and possibly come out on top at the end of all this," Peter said.

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Justin Baldoni's lawyer claims that they will be exploring "additional legal options"

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in Jersey City - January 12, 2024 (Image via Getty)

In a statement issued to People Magazine on June 24, 2025, Bryan Freedman claimed that the court's decision on the motion to dismiss Baldoni's case has "no effect" on their position that there was no harrasment and smear camiagn orchestrated by Baldoni, and this also does not affect their "vigorous defense" against Blake Lively's claims.

"Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations. Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us," Freedman said, talking about their decision not to file the second amended complaint.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued to the outlet, a spokesperson for Blake Lively responded to Justin Baldoni's team's decision not to move forward with the amended claims, calling the move a "total victory."

"The Court dismissed the frivolous $400 million Baldoni-Wayfarer lawsuit in its entirety. In the days that followed, Baldoni’s lawyer said the judge’s decision to dismiss their case was not a big deal as they promised to amend and refile it. As per usual, that was not true. The Court’s dismissal of Baldoni’s sham lawsuit was a total victory after all."

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The trial between It Ends With Us stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively is set to take place in March 2026.