Justin Baldoni Misses Deadline to Revive Lawsuit Against Blake Lively

A federal judge in Manhattan has officially ended Justin Baldoni’s $400 million extortion and defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, along with Baldoni’s related libel claims against The New York Times. The lawsuit was Baldoni’s counterpunch in the ugly and ferocious legal battle over the production and marketing of the 2024 film It Ends With Us. Lively’s related sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni remains ongoing.

In a new order signed Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman said Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios co-plaintiffs let a deadline to file an amended complaint lapse after the court dismissed their case last June. Judge Liman said the plaintiffs also failed to respond to the court’s Oct. 17 order asking why final judgment shouldn’t be entered in the matter. Reps for Baldoni and Wayfarer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. Baldoni retains his right to appeal the defamation case judgment to a higher court once a decision is rendered on Lively’s right to recoup fees.

Baldoni, 41, is still actively battling the sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by Lively in federal court in Manhattan on Dec. 31. In that initial complaint, Lively, 38, accused Baldoni, along with Wayfarer Studios, of subjecting her to “disturbing” sexual harassment during production of It Ends With Us and then engaging in a retaliatory campaign to “eviscerate” her credibility.

Lively, who co-starred in the movie with Baldoni, the film’s director, said the harassment included an incident during the filming of a slow dance where no sound was recorded. She said Baldoni improvised a scene where he “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good.’” She claimed Baldoni also tried to add a graphic sex scene where their characters would climax together on their wedding night. According to the lawsuit, Baldoni also “intrusively” asked her if she and Reynolds, her actor husband, climaxed simultaneously during intercourse.

Baldoni first sued The New York Times for defamation in Los Angeles on Dec. 31 after the newspaper published a Dec. 21 story titled “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.” The story revealed Lively had filed a precursor complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department. After Lively filed her public lawsuit, Baldoni filed his $400 million countersuit against Lively and Reynolds in Manhattan federal court on Jan. 16. He later added The New York Times after dismissing his claims against the media outlet in California.

When Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s complaint in June, he said Baldoni had not shown any defamation because the comments he alleged were defamatory were made in a Civil Rights Department complaint that was protected by the litigation privilege. He said The Times’ statements were also privileged. Lawyers for Lively and Reynolds called the ruling a victory at the time.

Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesman for The Times, said, “We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting. 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.”

In his own filings in the defamation case, Reynolds argued Baldoni shouldn’t be allowed to sue him over “hurt feelings” because Reynolds called him a predator. “Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to hold Mr. Baldoni — or any man who Mr. Reynolds believes sexually harassed his wife — in ‘deep disdain,’” one of the actor’s filings read.