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Weeks after Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively requested to be removed from Justin Baldoni’s $400M defamation suit, the “It Ends with Us” director is responding to the request.
In court docs obtained by People magazine, Baldoni’s team claimed that Reynolds “pretends that the Wayfarer Parties’ First Amended Complaint (the ‘FAC’) fails to set forth any basis for his liability and that he merely acted as a supportive spouse. Not so. The FAC specifically alleges ample facts to support the Wayfarer Parties’ claims against him, based on both his direct actions and his liability as a co-conspirator.”
Baldoni’s lawyers also noted that Reynolds shouldn’t get his attorneys’ fees recovered in the “extremely unlikely event” that he is dismissed.
Reynolds’ team responded in a statement, writing “They once again claim defamation without alleging who was defamed, what specifically was said, or how anyone suffered actual harm. Unlike Mr. Baldoni, who built his brand pretending to be a man who is ‘confident enough to listen’ to the women in his life, Ryan Reynolds actually is that man and he will continue to support his wife as she stands up to the individuals who not only harassed her but then have retaliated against her.”
The rep added, “Under New York law, California law, and indeed in every jurisdiction of the United States this lawsuit not only fails but may result in the Wayfarer Parties covering Ryan’s costs and attorneys’ fees for bringing such a frivolous case in the first place.”
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman also responded to Lively’s motion to dismiss herself from the lawsuit.
In her motion, Lively cited Protecting Survivors from Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act, which provides immunity to accusers from retaliatory defamation lawsuits.
Freedman argued that the law only applies if the allegations have a “reasonable basis” and made “without malice,” and in this case, he accuses Lively of making up her sexual harassment claims.
In a statement obtained by Variety, he said, “Lively fabricated her allegations of sexual harassment, either wholesale or by exaggerating benign (and not harassing) interactions in a concerted, malicious effort to seize control of the Film and later to restore her reputation after a well-publicized series of marketing missteps that sullied her reputation.”
Citing the First Amendment, Freedman went on, “Ms. Lively and her circle of Hollywood elites cannot prevent my clients from exercising their constitutional right to petition the court to clear their names from her false and harmful claims,” Freedman said. “This right protects not only Mr. Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties in this particular case, but all Americans in the future who have false accusations levied against them and seek relief from our justice system. This must stop here, and we will continue to fight against this blatant attempt to block access to the court system and to weaken our nation’s Constitution to serve those who are in the position of power.”
Lively’s lawyers Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson clapped back at Freedman in a statement obtained by “Extra.” They said, “Baldoni, Sarowitz and the rest of the Wayfarer Parties are now arguing that nobody should be protected by the sexual harassment privilege. They’re not just saying that it doesn’t apply to Ms. Lively – they’re saying it’s unconstitutional and no woman should ever have these protections. That’s right: Justin Baldoni, the man who has built his brand on supposedly speaking up for victims, believes that the First Amendment rights of victims of sexual assault and harassment to speak out should give way to the rights of perpetrators to sue their victims ‘into oblivion.’ These defendants are so hell bent on trying to destroy Blake Lively that they are willing to shred a law designed to protect all victims just to make sure they ‘bury’ one.”
Blake and Justin are set for a March 2026 trial, but the judge has threatened to move it up if things continue to get ugly between both sides.
