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Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation suit against Blake Lively dismissed

A federal judge in New York said Baldoni's defamation lawsuit against his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively failed to show actual malice.
Cindy Ord
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Getty Images North America
A federal judge in New York said Baldoni's defamation lawsuit against his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively failed to show actual malice.

Updated June 10, 2025 at 9:15 AM EDT

A federal judge has dismissed actor Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against actor Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and the New York Times.

Baldoni directed the 2024 movie It Ends With Us, which he co-starred in with Lively. The movie is based on a popular novel by Colleen Hoover. A few months after the movie was released, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, the movie's production company which Baldoni co-founded, alleging she was sexually harassed during the making of the movie.

The legal complaint coincided with an article in the New York Times detailing the public relations/crisis management machine working on behalf of Baldoni.

In response, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds, alleging defamation and extortion.

Wayfarer Studios also originally sued the New York Times in a separate $250 million libel lawsuit. That suit was dismissed after the Times was added as a defendant in the $400 million defamation suit.

In an opinion issued Monday, Judge Lewis J. Liman stated Baldoni failed to show that actual malice was involved in Lively's allegations.

As for the Times, the judge wrote, "The alleged facts indicate that the Times reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatized manner, what it believed to have happened."

"Today's opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively," read a statement from Lively's lawyers, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb. "This '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it."

Bryan Freedman, lawyer for Justin Baldoni, sent a statement calling Lively's declaration of victory "false."

"We are grateful for the organic show of support from the public and for the dedication of the Internet sleuth community who continue to cover the case with discernment and integrity."

Copyright 2025 NPR

Andrew Limbong is a reporter for NPR's Arts Desk, where he does pieces on anything remotely related to arts or culture, from streamers looking for mental health on Twitch to Britney Spears' fight over her conservatorship. He's also covered the near collapse of the live music industry during the coronavirus pandemic. He's the host of NPR's Book of the Day podcast and a frequent host on Life Kit.

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Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

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