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On June 10, 2025, American columnist and blogger Perez Hilton discussed the dismissal of Justin Baldoni's countersuit against It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively. Judge Lewis J. Liman, who is presiding over the legal case between co-stars, noted that the Jane the Virgin actor can file a second amended complaint for "breach of implied covenant" and "tortious interference with contract" by June 23, 2025.
Reacting to the Judge's decision, Hilton remarked,
"Not even what I thought were two of his [Justin Baldoni] strongest claims."
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On June 9, 2025, Judge Lewis J. Liman, a 65-year-old United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, granted the motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit, which was filed against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds (Lively's husband), and Lively's publicist Leslie Sloane for civil extortion and defamation.
The lawsuit was filed on January 16, 2025, in response to Lively's lawsuit filed on December 20, 2024, which accused Baldoni of sexual assault and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
Judge Liman also dismissed the Jane the Virgin actor's $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times, which was filed after the outlet released an article titled 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, a day after Lively filed her lawsuit. The article contained screenshots of text exchanges between Baldoni and his team, which suggested that Baldoni had been plotting against Lively to "bury" her image.
Reacting to Judge Lewis Liman's decision, Perez Hilton remarked,
"This judge is crazy."
More about Judge Lewis J. Liman's dismissal of Justin Baldoni's lawsuit
According to USA Today, Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against the Another Simple Favor star revolved around two claims. The first claim was civil extortion. However, the Judge claimed that Baldoni's complaint didn't prove that Lively's "threats were wrongful extortion," instead, her actions seemed to be "legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions."
Justin Baldoni's second claim alleged that Blake Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, and The New York Times promoted a false story that Baldoni committed sexual misconduct towards Lively and plotted a smear campaign against her. But Judge Liman said that the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is "responsible for any statements other than the statements in her [Blake Lively] CRD complaint, which are privileged."
The Judge further stated that Justin Baldoni's team had not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane, or the Times "would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them," which is required for them to be "liable for defamation under applicable law."
Judge Liman continued,
"The Wayfarer Parties’ additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety."
Subsequently, in a statement received by People Magazine, Blake Lively's attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, described Judge Liman's decision as a "total victory and a complete vindication" for the Gossip Girl alum and others who got "dragged" into their retaliatory lawsuit by Baldoni's team.
Lively's attorneys added,
"As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation."
The trial is scheduled for March 2026, following the ongoing legal conflict between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively.
