Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have asked a federal judge to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against them. In December, Lively sued Baldoni, her co-star in It Ends With Us, for sexual harassment and emotional distress. Baldoni denied the claims, and his agency dropped him after the allegations. In response, Baldoni sued Lively and Reynolds for $400 million, claiming they tried to ruin his reputation and career.
Variety reports that the couple’s lawyers filed a notice this week to dismiss the lawsuit. A judge had earlier asked for a letter from the defendants indicating their intention to request the dismissal. The judge will set a deadline for filing the motion to dismiss. Lively and Reynolds’ lawyer, Michael J Gottlieb, confirmed their intention to do so, and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane also filed a similar statement.
Baldoni and Lively have been in a public feud since the movie’s release. A judge has set a trial date for March 2026 and moved an initial meeting to next week. The judge also asked the lawyers to be ready to discuss issues like pretrial publicity and the conduct of the attorneys.
Lively’s lawyers also claimed that Baldoni’s attorney was trying to influence potential jurors. Baldoni’s team, meanwhile, wants to take Lively’s deposition soon, but they claim her representatives don’t want Baldoni’s lawyer to conduct it, due to unspecified issues with him.
The judge is likely to combine both lawsuits for the trial. Additionally, Lively has filed in Texas for a deposition related to another potential lawsuit, claiming a crisis management expert named Jed Wallace spread negative content about her on social media.
It Ends With Us, based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel, was a box-office hit but was surrounded by rumors of tension between Lively and Baldoni.
