A bit of Hollywood news this afternoon. Last December the NY Times published a big story about the behind the scenes drama that happened on a movie set between star Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni. Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni and the producer of inappropriate behavior and also of allegedly hiring a crisis PR team to trash her reputation. I wrote about most of the details here at the time. Here’s a sample of what the PR team was allegedly doing.
In an initial planning document sent to Wayfarer and Mr. Baldoni on Aug. 2, Ms. Nathan suggested media talking points, including that Ms. Lively used an imbalance of power to take creative control of the film.
But Mr. Baldoni wanted more.
“Not in love with the document they sent,” he responded in a text exchange that included Ms. Abel and Mr. Heath. “Not sure I’m feeling the protection I felt on the call.”
Ms. Abel relayed his frustration to Ms. Nathan: “I think you guys need to be tough and show the strength of what you guys can do in these scenarios. He wants to feel like she can be buried.”
“Of course- but you know when we send over documents we can’t send over the work we will or could do because that could get us in a lot of trouble,” Ms. Nathan responded, adding, “We can’t write we will destroy her.”
Moments later, she said, “Imagine if a document saying all the things that he wants ends up in the wrong hands.”
Baldoni has long presented himself as an outspoken male feminist and an opponent of toxic masculinity so these allegations were really undermining his brand. He responded by filing his own countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and the NY Times. Today a judge dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit.
The actor filed a $400 million lawsuit against Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds in January, accusing the Hollywood stars of trying to destroy his reputation by accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the film “It Ends With Us.” He also named their publicist, Leslie Sloane, and her company as defendants.
He later added The Times as a defendant, arguing that an article published by the news organization on Dec. 21 about Ms. Lively’s accusations had defamed him…
Judge Liman said in his ruling on Monday that Mr. Baldoni’s suit had not adequately shown that Ms. Lively’s threats were “wrongful extortion” and not the hard bargaining of working conditions. He added that Mr. Baldoni’s legal team had not shown that Ms. Lively had defamed him, because it had not claimed that Ms. Lively had made any defamatory comments other than those in her civil rights department complaint, which are covered by privilege.
As you would expect, Lively’s attorneys celebrated the dismissal:
Lively’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb call the decision a “total victory and a complete vindication” for the actress and the others whom “Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.”
“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it,” they say in the statement, adding that “we look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages” from the Wayfarer parties who they say “perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
Lively herself posted a statement on Instagram thanking the organizations who supported her lawsuit.
“Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organizations united in defending women’s rights to speak up for their safety,” Lively, 37, wrote via her Instagram Story on Monday, June 9. “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. I’m more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.”
According to People, Lively is very relieved about the dismissal.
According to one insider, the actress, 37, “cried with relief” on Monday, June 9, after learning that Judge Lewis J. Liman tossed out Baldoni’s countersuit, which accused Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of extortion and defamation.
“She’s obviously relieved. They both are,” another source tells PEOPLE. “She feels vindicated.” As far as the whole legal team, “Everyone is happy,” adds another source.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit Lively filed against Baldoni is still moving forward. It is currently scheduled for trial in March of 2026.
