Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are preparing to challenge Justin Baldoni‘s defamation case.
Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48, informed a federal judge on Thursday, January 30, that they plan to seek dismissal of the legal complaint filed against them by the It Ends With Us director, 40, Variety disclosed that day.
According to Variety, attorneys from both parties are scheduled to meet in court on Monday, February 3, for the initial hearing of the case.
The publication reports that the couple’s legal team submitted the notice on Thursday after Judge Lewis Liman requested a letter to “indicate in one sentence the Defendant’s intent to make a motion to dismiss.”
Speculation about tension between Baldoni and Lively emerged in August 2024 during the marketing campaign for It Ends With Us when the two stars, who played the main roles in the movie, avoided doing publicity appearances together.
In December 2024, Lively initiated legal action against Baldoni for sexual harassment. In the legal papers, Lively additionally claimed Baldoni orchestrated a “social manipulation” scheme against her to “destroy” her reputation. The documents also state that Lively wasn’t alone in raising concerns about Baldoni. (Baldoni denied all allegations against him made in the lawsuit.)
Shortly after Lively’s lawsuit, Baldoni joined nine other plaintiffs in filing a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times regarding its reporting of Lively’s claims. (A spokesperson for The New York Times told Us that the outlet is planning to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”)
Lively filed another lawsuit that day against Baldoni in a New York federal court reiterating her previous allegations — which were originally submitted to the California Civil Rights Department. Besides Baldoni, the actress is pursuing legal action against publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, and Wayfarer Studios. The suit alleges sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, emotional distress, privacy invasion, and wage loss. (Baldoni’s team denies all claims made in the lawsuit.)
Baldoni’s production company launched a fresh lawsuit on Thursday, January 16, targeting Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and Reynolds, seeking $400 million in damages. The legal action includes claims of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and additional charges.
In their response, Lively’s attorneys said in a statement that Baldoni’s team was employing a “desperate” tactic that “attempts to turn the tables on the victim.” Lively’s legal representatives predicted this strategy will ultimately “fail.”
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