Apparently, it ends with Judge Lewis J. Liman. On Monday, the U.S. District Court decide tossed out Justin Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit towards Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s publicist, and The New York Times within the newest improvement in the scorched-earth feud surrounding the making of It Ends With Us.
Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios firm the choice of amending his criticism to incorporate solely its claims of breach of contract and enterprise interference towards the couple. Baldoni’s crew has till June 23 to file that criticism, in accordance with the ruling obtained by Vanity Fair.The choice successfully signifies that Lively’s claims of sexual misconduct about Baldoni, who directed and co-starred within the movie together with her, and the newspaper’s December 2024 article in regards to the matter—headlined “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine”—constitute protected speech.
The judge did allow Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios company the option of amending his complaint to include only its claims of breach of contract and business interference against the couple. Baldoni’s crew has till June 23 to file that, in accordance with the ruling obtained by Vanity Fair.
“The Wayfarer Parties have not adequately alleged that Sloane or Reynolds individually did any more than repeat Lively’s version of events, which they had no reason to doubt,” Liman wrote within the movement.
The ongoing authorized conflagration has led to gag orders that prohibit the assorted events from commenting on the dispute usually. Still, Lively posted this as a Story on her Instagram account after the ruling: “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.”
There was additionally an announcement from Lively and Reynolds’ attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb: “Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively,” they mentioned. “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 [those] who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
The dismissal additionally clears Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, of wrongdoing. Her lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, mentioned in an announcement that Sloane “was wrongfully dragged into this lawsuit … to actively harm Sloane’s reputation. Today’s decision by the Court makes clear that Sloane did nothing wrong. Sloane stands fully vindicated, and justice has been served.”
The decide’s ruling was additionally a victory for the newspaper that first broke Lively’s allegations. “The alleged facts indicate that the Times reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatized manner, what it believed to have happened,” the decide wrote within the movement. “The Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively’s version of events.”
Charlie Stadlander, a spokesperson for The New York Times, additionally known as Baldoni’s lawsuit “a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting.” He expressed gratitude to the court docket for dismissing it. “Our journalists went out and covered carefully and fairly a story of public importance, and the court recognized that the law is designed to protect just that sort of journalism,” Stadtlander mentioned. “We will proceed to face up in court docket for our journalism and for our journalists when their work comes underneath assault.”
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Still ongoing is Lively’s authorized criticism towards Baldoni over her allegations of mistreatment in the course of the making of It Ends With Us. That half, for now, has no finish in sight.