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Podcaster Zack Peter recently shared a video on X discussing the latest developments in the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. In the video dated June 4, 2025, Peter claimed that Lively had withdrawn two of her key allegations against Baldoni to avoid submitting sensitive documents as evidence.
"This week, Blake Lively withdrew her claims of emotional distress in her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni...after they asked her to provide some evidence," Peter explained.
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According to a report by Variety published on June 3, 2025, in her initial complaint filed in December, Blake Lively claimed that she suffered "severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration, and mental anguish" on the sets of It Ends With Us because of Justin Baldoni.
However, Lively's legal team submitted court documents on Monday to retract this emotional distress allegation after Justin Baldoni’s legal team requested access to her medical and mental health records. Lively requested to dismiss the claims "without prejudice," which, in legal terms, meant she would be able to refile the same claims again during the ongoing case.
Commenting on this latest development, Peter interpreted the withdrawal as a strategic attempt to avoid exposure. He said Lively was “withdrawing” her claims “because she doesn’t want to turn over her medical records.”
Peter further explained that accessing a plaintiff’s medical records was standard procedure in cases involving claims of physical or emotional injury. He added that it was unusual for Lively to abandon the claims midstream, especially since it was well understood from the outset that disclosing medical records was an inevitable part of the discovery process.
"There’s something in her medical records that hurts her case, that she doesn’t want out there. That’s why she doesn’t want them to be brought into court," he speculated.
The significance of "without prejudice" in law and its context in the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni legal drama
To understand the significance of "without prejudice" in the context of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal drama, we need to understand what "without prejudice" means in law.
As per the information on Helfend Law Group’s website, in the legal context of a dismissal, "prejudice" refers to the loss of specific rights or legal privileges. So a case dismissed "without prejudice" is not closed permanently. Rather, it is considered a temporary halt, which allows the plaintiff the option to re-file the case, alter the original claims, or pursue the matter in a different court.
According to the aforementioned report by Variety, on June 2, Blake Lively attempted to withdraw her emotional distress claims "without prejudice." This would therefore allow her to re-file the case within the prescribed legal timeline.
This prompted Baldoni’s team to challenge her legal attempt. In their court filing, they argued that if Lively refused to provide the medical documents central to the emotional distress claims, then she should not be allowed to retract her claims "without prejudice" and reassert the same charges in the future.
Therefore, they insisted the dismissal be made "with prejudice," which would permanently bar her from pursuing the same allegations again.
As per Helfend Law Group’s website, a dismissal "with prejudice" is definitive. Once granted, it precludes the plaintiff from reviving the same claim or filing a related one based on the same set of facts.
In their court filing, Baldoni’s lawyers further argued that Lively was attempting to retain leverage while withholding evidence.
"Ms. Lively wants to simultaneously: (a) refuse to disclose the information and documents needed to disprove that she suffered any emotional distress and/or that the Wayfarer Parties were the cause; (b) maintain the right to re-file her IED Claims at an unknown time in this or some other court after the discovery window has closed," they wrote.
As per an article by NBC, on June 3, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman denied Lively’s original request. However, he clarified that Lively could still file a formal motion seeking “dismissal without prejudice.” Otherwise, it would be up to both parties—Lively’s and Baldoni’s teams—to mutually decide whether the dismissal would be with or without prejudice.
At present, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are embroiled in a heated legal battle that stemmed from the sets of It Ends With Us.
The conflict started when Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni, alleging that he orchestrated a smear campaign to damage her reputation. In retaliation, the Jane the Virgin alum filed a countersuit, accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation.
The legal battle is in its pre-trial phase at present, with the trial scheduled to begin on March 9, 2026.
