If the It Ends With Us legal saga has taught us anything, it’s you win some, you lose some. But if you’re Blake Lively in a feud against Justin Baldoni then your latest massive victory has definitely put you on top of it all.
Just recently, the 37-year-old actress decided to drop two of her claims against her co-star, director. The “routine part of the litigation process,” as her team called it, resulted in tossing away accusations of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress against Baldoni. At the time, it seemed as if Justin had gotten the better of her. However, a major plot twist in the same unravelling Hollywood drama has dealt a consequential setback for the Jane the Virgin veteran.
Judge tosses Justin Baldoni’s suits against Blake Lively, The New York Times
On Monday, Judge Lewis J Liman granted the motion to dismiss the $400 million countersuit filed by the 41-year-old actor and others tied to his Wayfarer Studios. With the retaliatory lawsuit, Baldoni sought to accuse Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist, Leslie Sloane, of extortion and defamation. In the same breath, he also launched a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
While the US judge’s decision has brought happy news to both Blake’s side and NYT, he also noted that Justin Baldoni’s legal team could amend the claims for “breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract,” as per People. The ball is in their court until a June 23 deadline.
“The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged,” Judge Lima wrote. “The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and [publicist Leslie] Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign. But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law.”
Blake Lively’s first social media post after the ruling
Hours ago, Blake Lively took to her social media profile to celebrate the happy news. Recalling how she previously stood alongside 19 organisations while defending women’s rights to speak up for their safety, she addressed feeling the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit.
“While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back,” she shared via her Instagram Stories. Lively was hit with vehement backlash amid then-ongoing It Ends With Us promotions for her “tone-deaf” strategy during red carpet moments and interviews. Many accused her of flipping the promotions of a movie that dealt with serious themes like domestic violence into a “Barbie-esque” fashion campaign.
With her latest IG update, she noticeably switches her jargon. Instead of publicly rejoicing at her victory, she said, “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.”
Sharing a bunch of social media handles of organisations offering resources and information, she directed awareness to “protections” out there for women in need.
She concluded the message: “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.”
A source close to the actress told TMZ that she was feeling “grateful, vindicated and relieved”
Blake Lively’s lawyers respond
Meanwhile, Lively’s attorneys Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb have described the legal win as a “total victory and a complete vindication” for her and all those whom “Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.”
They again reiterated their previous statements, calling the $400 million lawsuit against Blake a “sham.” In the next round of the legal warfare, her lawyers seek “attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages” from Wayfare Parties.
On the other hand, Blake’s formal allegations against her It Ends With Us co-star, director are moving forward. Although Baldoni seeks to get those dismissed with his legal motion, the judge has yet to announce his ruling.