Easily the biggest update on the Blake versus Baldoni legal drama, the latter's defamation countersuit against his former co-star, worth $400 million, has been dismissed by a New York judge.
The countersuit, alleging extortion, defamation and other allegations, was thrown out by Judge Lewis Liman on Monday.
For context, Blake and Justin had previously collaborated on the doomed 2024 film It Ends With Us, the official adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. Following the film's release, Blake filed a lawsuit against Justin and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, alleging sexual harassment and claiming he initiated a preemptive smear campaign. Justin denied the accusations and responded with a $400 million countersuit against Blake, her husband Ryan, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and her agency Vision PR, Inc., alleging defamation, civil extortion, and other charges.
So why did the judge side with Blake? Here's a breakdown.
Extortion
The kingpin of Justin's countersuit was the fact that Blake "stole the film" from him and his production company, by threatening not to promote it, in tow with the 'false' sexual assault narrative fueled against him. So as far as extortion goes, Judge Liman cleared that Justin and his legal counsel "have not adequately alleged that Lively's threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions".
Defamation
As far as defamation goes, Judge Liman asserted, that "Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements" (in her lawsuit), which are of a privileged nature. Additionally, there appears to be no concrete way of proving that the New York Times article, alleging Blake's version of events, was published with any "actual malice" — "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 Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively's version of events", wrote Judge Liman.
{{/usCountry}}As far as defamation goes, Judge Liman asserted, that "Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements" (in her lawsuit), which are of a privileged nature. Additionally, there appears to be no concrete way of proving that the New York Times article, alleging Blake's version of events, was published with any "actual malice" — "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 Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively's version of events", wrote Judge Liman.
{{/usCountry}}Following this development, Blake shared her official statement on the manner, echoing her legal counsel's statement to the US media, an excerpt from which asserted "a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times".
Excerpts from Blake's personal statement read, "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". She concluded that moving on, she was "more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman's right to have a voice in protecting themselves".
Justin is yet to address the development.