Blake Lively Claims Justin Baldoni’s ‘Vengeful’ $400 Million Lawsuit Breaks #MeToo Law in Motion to Dismiss

Blake Lively’s latest move in her legal battle against her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director Justin Baldoni is a motion to have the filmmaker’s $400 million defamation lawsuit dropped, claiming Baldoni’s suit is just his way getting back at her for legally accusing him of sexual harassment. Her argument is that the “vengeful” lawsuit breaks a 2023 California law from Gov. Gavin Newsom that protects victims who speak out, which he signed in the wake of #MeToo

“The Wayfarer Parties’ vengeful and rambling lawsuit against Blake Lively is a profound abuse of the legal process that has no place in federal court,” Lively’s legal team said in a 44-page memorandum submitted to the U.S. Southern District Court of New York on Thursday. “The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation.”

Per that California law, Lively states Baldoni is prohibited from suing her for accusing him of sexually harassing her during the filming of Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us.”

“The Wayfarer Parties have created more liability for themselves by their malicious efforts to sue Ms. Lively into oblivion,” the statement continued, adding Lively believes Baldoni will ultimately have to pay her in damages and cover her court fees.

The memorandum concluded: “The Court should dismiss all claims against Ms. Lively with prejudice, deny leave to amend and award Ms. Lively all relief sought.”

In a statement to TheWrap, Lively’s lawyers Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson expounded on their motion.

“This lawsuit is a profound abuse of the legal process that has no place in federal court. California law now expressly prohibits suing victims who make the decision to speak out against sexual harassment or retaliation, whether in a lawsuit or in the press,” the pair said in a joint statement. “This meritless and retaliatory lawsuit runs head first into three legal obstacles, including the litigation, fair report and sexual harassment privileges, the latter of which contains a mandatory fee shifting provision that will require the likes of billionaire Steve Sarowitz, Wayfarer Studios, and others that brought frivolous defamation claims against Ms. Lively to pay damages. In other words, in an epic self-own, the Wayfarer Parties’ attempt to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ has only created more liability for them, and deservedly so, given what they have done.”

Lively’s spokesperson commented and expressed the need for alleged victims of sexual harassment and abuse to be protected.

“The painful reality is that Ms. Lively is not alone in being sued for defamation after speaking up about being sexually harassed at work,” their statement read. “That is entirely why California recently enacted AB 933, the Privileged Communications Incident of Sexual Assault, Harassment, or Discrimination Act, which codified California civil code section 47.1. While Ms. Lively has suffered greatly by speaking up and pursuing legal claims, it is important for other people to know that they have protections, and that there is a specific law that expressly protects them from being silenced or financially ruined by a defamation lawsuit because they had the courage to speak up.”

Lively’ request follows her husband’s Ryan Reynolds’ Tuesday motion to have Baldoni’s lawsuit dropped after Baldoni accused Reynolds of creating the character of Nicepool in “Deadpool & Wolverine” in a “deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate or bully” him. Reynolds did not deny Baldoni’s claim, but noted that the filmmaker can not sue over “hurt feelings.”

“It falls into the [First Amended Complaint]’s general allegation of ‘hurt feelings,’ which in reality is nothing more than a desperate effort to advance the same curated ‘bully’ image that the Wayfarer Parties created and disseminated in the retaliation campaign they launched against Ms. Lively in August of 2024,” a passage from Reynolds’ legal document reads.

The post Blake Lively Claims Justin Baldoni’s ‘Vengeful’ $400 Million Lawsuit Breaks #MeToo Law in Motion to Dismiss appeared first on TheWrap.