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On June 10, 2025, American podcaster and comedian Zack Peter discussed the dismissal of Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively.
On June 9, Judge Lewis J. Liman, who was presiding over the legal case, granted the motion to dismiss Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit. It was filed against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging civil extortion and defamation.
The lawsuit, filed on January 16, 2025, followed Lively's own lawsuit against Baldoni, filed on December 20, 2024, accusing him of sexual assault and orchestrating a social manipulation campaign.
Judge Lewis J. Liman also dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit against The New York Times, filed on December 31, 2024. That suit followed the publication of an article titled 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, which contained text and email exchanges between Justin Baldoni and his publicists, Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan, allegedly suggesting that they were plotting against Lively to "bury" her reputation.
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Reacting to Judge Liman's decision, Zack Peter claimed that Lively's legal victory was not motivated by her effort to fight for women but rather by "strategic litigation privilege." Pointing at Lively, Peter asserted that people can get away with anything as long as they know how to make strategic legal moves.
"Today’s news marks an important lesson: You can make false claims of SH against someone — as long as you know how to protect yourself legally. Blake Lively may have won her Motion to Dismiss (because of her strategic litigation privilege), but it’s not because she’s fighting for women." Peter wrote on X.
More about Judge Lewis J. Liman's dismissal of Justin Baldoni's lawsuit
In his lawsuit filed on January 16, 2025, the Jane the Virgin actor accused Blake Lively of civil extortion, claiming she "stole" It Ends With Us and his production company, Wayfarer Studios. The lawsuit also alleged that Lively refused to promote the film and threatened to "attack" Baldoni if he failed to meet her demands.
However, in his dismissal, Judge Liman stated that Justin Baldoni's civil extortion claim didn't prove that Lively's "threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions." He also noted that Baldoni's team failed to show that Lively's alleged "extortionate acts" caused them any harm.
Baldoni's second claim alleged that Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane, and The New York Times circulated a false story that "Baldoni committed sexual misconduct towards Lively" and plotted a smear campaign against her. In response, Judge Liman said that the Wayfarer Parties had not alleged that Lively was "responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged."
Furthermore, Judge Liman stated Justin Baldoni's team didn't allege that Reynolds, Sloane, or The New York Times "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."
On June 10, following the legal victory, Blake Lively broke her silence in an Instagram story, accompanied by a list of organizations focused on women's rights.
"Like so many others, I've felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us. While the suit against me was defeated, so many don't have the resources to fight back."
The Another Simple Favor actress added that she is more "resolved than ever" to support women's rights, including their safety, integrity, and dignity.
"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," Lively added.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are set to face each other in court in March 2026.
