A federal judge in New York dismissed actor and filmmaker Justin Baldoni's $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, publicist Leslie Sloane, and The New York Times on Monday, marking a significant legal victory for the It Ends With Us actress in one of Hollywood's most contentious ongoing legal disputes.
Judge Lewis J. Liman granted motions to dismiss the defamation and extortion claims filed by Baldoni and his production company, the Wayfarer Parties. The court ruled that the plaintiffs failed to sufficiently allege that the defendants knowingly made false statements or acted with actual malice.
"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," Liman wrote in the June 9 opinion.
Baldoni originally filed suit in December 2024 following Lively's sexual harassment complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. On the same day The New York Times published an investigative article about the case, Baldoni filed his countersuit, claiming the piece relied on "cherry-picked" and altered communications to fit a "PR narrative." He also alleged that Reynolds and Sloane perpetuated damaging claims about his conduct.
Judge Liman dismissed the complaint in full but allowed Baldoni until June 23 to refile certain claims related to breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract.
Lively's attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, described the ruling as a "total victory and a complete vindication" for their client and those she named. "As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it," they stated. "We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys' fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, [Steve] Sarowitz, [Melissa] Nathan and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation."
Baldoni has denied all allegations of misconduct. His attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment following Monday's dismissal. In earlier statements, his lawyer Bryan Freedman had accused the Times of "cower[ing] to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites" and violating journalistic ethics.
Lively filed her lawsuit against Baldoni and others on December 20, 2024, formalizing her harassment allegations. Days later, Baldoni launched his countersuit and a separate $250 million defamation claim against the Times, which stood by its reporting. The article, titled "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine," examined publicist communications and internal disputes tied to the production.
Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni's media claims as well, finding insufficient evidence to support the assertion that the Times knowingly published false or misleading information. "The Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively's version of events," he noted in the opinion.
