Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds will move to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit
It still does not end here.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds revealed they will move to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit, informing a federal judge of the decision on Thursday, reported Variety.
Lively, 37, sued Baldoni, 41 — who’s also her co-star and director of “It Ends With Us” — for $250 million, claiming he sexually harassed her while filming and launched a smear campaign when she spoke out about her alleged treatment. Baldoni denied her accusations.
He and his publicists countered Lively for $400 million, alleging she defamed them. They also alleged that Lively and her famous husband, Ryan Reynolds, pressured the high-powered talent agency WME to drop Baldoni as a client — an accusation WME denied.
The “Gossip Girl” alum and Reynolds’ legal team allegedly filed the notice on Thursday, per Judge Lewis Liman’s order this week, in which he informed them that he plans to “consolidate” the separate lawsuits.
The judge will later set a deadline for the motion to be filed.
“The Lively-Reynolds Parties intend to move to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint,” the Hollywood power couple’s attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb, revealed in the alleged filing.
Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, is said to have filed a similar notice on Wednesday, as she, too, was named as a defendant in Baldoni’s lawsuit.
Lawyers on both sides reportedly indicated they have no objection to merging the two federal cases into one proceeding.
The Post has reached out to Lively and Baldoni’s attorneys for comment.
Both the actress and the director’s lawyers are due in court on Monday, February 3, marking their first hearing regarding the “It Ends With Us” drama.
At the hearing, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman’s alleged extrajudicial conduct will take center stage after Lively’s attorneys claimed he’s making prejudicial comments in the media and, in turn, is reporting tainting the jury pool.
However, Freedman fought back, countering that he had every right to defend his client publicly following Lively and her team’s alleged “attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media.”
Baldoni’s legal team allegedly revealed on Thursday night that they would like Lively’s deposition to happen as soon as possible, claiming the “It Ends With Us” starlet has indicated she’ll refuse to let Freedman do the questioning due to “unspecified statements made by Mr. Freedman.”
“We are unaware of any situation that would warrant the deposed party to have a choice in which attorney takes her deposition,” another one of Baldoni’s lawyers, Kevin Fritz, allegedly informed the judge. “Parties to litigation simply do not have the right to dictate which of their opponents’ attorneys may or may not take their deposition or perform any other aspect of the opposing party’s case.”
He is asking for the deposition issue to be addressed during Monday’s hearing.
The never-ending legal battle recently got a trial date.
Lively and Baldoni are headed to trial on March 9, 2026.
