The It Ends With Us authorized battle continues as star Blake Lively has requested a choose to dismiss a countersuit filed by her co-star Justin Baldoni, calling his claims “vengeful and rambling,” after she filed a lawsuit in opposition to him for sexual harassment and retaliation.
On Thursday, Lively’s legal professionals wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court docket that Baldoni and his manufacturing firm’s claims they have been defamed have been a “profound abuse of the legal process.”
“The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation,” the legal professionals stated.
“The right to seek legal redress and the right of the press to report on it are sacred principles that are protected by multiple privileges, including the litigation and fair report privileges, which are absolute,” they added.
Lively’s authorized group additionally referred to Baldoni’s lawsuit as a part of a “sinister campaign to bury and destroy” her for talking out about sexual harassment in opposition to him.
Her legal professionals invoked a California regulation that protects sexual harassment accusers, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed, in response to defamation lawsuits introduced on in the course of the #MeToo motion. Lively’s legal professionals stated the regulation entitles her to say authorized charges and damages from Baldoni as soon as his go well with is thrown out.
“In other words, in an epic self-own, the Wayfarer Parties have created more liability for themselves by their malicious efforts to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion,’” the movement states.
Lively sought unspecified damages when she sued Baldoni in late December for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. He countersued for $400 million, accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion.
In an announcement on Thursday, Lively’s legal professionals, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, stated Lively “suffered greatly” by talking up in regards to the alleged harassment.
“The painful reality is that Ms. Lively is not alone in being sued for defamation after speaking up about being sexually harassed at work,” Lively’s legal professionals stated. “While Ms. Lively has suffered greatly by speaking up and pursuing legal claims, it is important for other people to know that they have protections and that there is a specific law that expressly protects them from being silenced or financially ruined by a defamation lawsuit because they had the courage to speak up.”
Baldoni’s legal professionals have been fast to reply to Lively’s try and dismiss his lawsuit in opposition to her, referring to her actions as “abhorrent.”
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“Ms. Lively’s recent motion to dismiss herself from the self-concocted disaster she initiated is one of the most abhorrent examples of abusing our legal system,” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, stated in an announcement.
“Stringent rules are put into place to protect the innocent and allow individuals to rightfully defend themselves. Laws are not meant to be twisted and curated by privileged elites to fit their own personal agenda,” Freedman added.
Freedman stated they’ll “continue to hold Ms. Lively accountable for her actions of pure malice, which include falsely accusing my clients of harassment and retaliation.”
“Her fantastical claims will be swiftly debunked as discovery moves forward, easily disproved with actual, evidentiary proof,” Freedman stated.
Lively’s newest movement comes days after legal professionals for Reynolds filed papers within the countersuit requesting to be dismissed from Baldoni’s $400 million civil extortion and defamation grievance.
Baldoni was dropped by his company, WME, which additionally represents Lively. His go well with alleges that Reynolds was liable for this after he approached a WME govt on the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere and “expressed his deep disdain for Baldoni, suggesting the agency was working with a ‘sexual predator.’”
“The entirety of plaintiffs’ defamation claim appears to be based on two times that Mr. Reynolds allegedly called Mr. Baldoni a ‘predator,’” the submitting learn. (Global News has not independently reviewed the paperwork.)
“But, the FAC alleges no plausible facts that suggest Mr. Reynolds did not believe this comment to be true; instead, the relevant FAC allegations suggest that Mr. Reynolds genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes that Mr. Baldoni’s behavior is reflective of a ‘predator,’” the submitting added.
Reynolds’ authorized group questioned the actor’s relevance to the go well with past his function as “a supportive spouse who has witnessed firsthand the emotional, reputational and financial devastation Ms. Lively has suffered.”
Freedman responded to Reynolds’ submitting in an announcement offered to CNN. “After lighting a match, Mr. Reynolds now seeks to run from the flames. It won’t work,” Freedman stated.
“Mr. Reynolds was a key player in the scheme, defaming Justin around Hollywood, strong-arming WME into dropping Justin as a client, and trying to destroy Justin’s career however possible,” the assertion stated.
“His fingerprints have been all over this smear campaign against Justin and the Wayfarer team since day one. Mr. Reynolds now attempts to reduce plainly cognizable claims to ‘hurt feelings,’ sending a clear message that bullying is acceptable,” Freedman continued.
“Mr. Reynolds can appear on as many sketch shows as he wants and feebly try to make light of his current situation, but we will not stop until he is held accountable for his actions,” the assertion added, seemingly referencing Reynolds’ look on the fiftieth anniversary particular of Saturday Night Live in February.
Baldoni sued his co-star Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48, for defamation in January. That lawsuit got here the identical day that Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel, alleging the paper labored with Lively to smear him.
Since the authorized battle started, Baldoni’s authorized group made textual content messages from Lively and Reynolds public on a web site, titled The Lawsuit Info, created to assist defend himself.
On the web site, printed in early February, Baldoni, 41, additionally shared an amended grievance in his case in opposition to Lively, Reynolds, Lively’s PR agency and the New York Times, in addition to a 168-page doc known as, “Timeline of relevant events,” associated to the case and the manufacturing of the movie.
The timeline contains emails and textual content messages that have been allegedly despatched main as much as and in the course of the film’s filming.
Lively and Baldoni’s case headed to court docket on Feb. 3, because the Gossip Girl actor’s authorized group started to debate a possible gag order.
A U.S. choose reminded legal professionals for Baldoni and Lively to not publicly talk about the actors’ competing civil lawsuits.
At a listening to in Manhattan federal court docket, Gottlieb, Lively’s lawyer, complained to Judge Lewis Liman that Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, violated skilled ethics guidelines for legal professionals by accusing Lively of “bullying.”
“It’s very hard to un-ring the bell,” Gottlieb stated, arguing that such statements may taint the jury pool for the scheduled March 9, 2026 trial.
Freedman instructed that his feedback to People journal and in a podcast look have been a response to the Dec. 21, 2024 New York Times article that “completely devastated” Baldoni.
“This has not been a one-way street,” he stated.
Liman adopted a New York state rule barring most out-of-court statements that might have an effect on a case’s consequence, besides for shielding a shopper from prejudicial adversarial publicity.
The choose may sanction legal professionals for violations. Neither Gottlieb nor Freedman objected.
— With information from The Associated Press
