Blake Lively Moves to Dismiss Justin Baldoni Lawsuit, Alleges ‘Profound Abuse’

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Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, have asked to be released from Justin Baldoni‘s lawsuit, arguing that Baldoni’s allegations represent an excessive misuse of the legal system.

What did Blake Lively’s motion for dismissal say?

As stated in a recent filing by Lively and her lawyers (as reported by Deadline), Lively refers to a California law that shields people who report sexual misconduct from being sued in retaliation. Lively’s legal team argue that this situation aligns perfectly with the law, claiming that Baldoni is using his defamation lawsuit as a weapon against her.

This motion states that it’s illegal to use defamation lawsuits as a means of revenge against people who have made legal complaints or spoken openly about sexual harassment and retaliation. In other words, such lawsuits should not be used as a tool for retaliation in these specific cases.

The argument suggests that Baldoni’s counterclaim against Lively is merely vengeful behavior on his part, which her lawyers refer to as misusing the legal system.

In their statement, lawyers Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson for client Lively stated that this lawsuit represents an excessive misuse of legal procedures which should not be entertained in federal court. They pointed out that California law explicitly forbids suing individuals who choose to report sexual harassment or retaliation, whether through a lawsuit or media exposure.

In the argument presented in their motion, they’ve referenced Assembly Bill 933, a law enacted in California in 2023, which shields people who speak out about harassment, assault, or discrimination from being sued for defamation, unless their statements were made with deliberate and harmful intent. If the court rules in Lively’s favor, Baldoni’s lawsuit would be dropped, and the filmmaker would be required to cover Lively’s legal expenses.

Reynolds filed to dismiss the suit this week

This week, Reynolds and his legal team filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit initiated by Baldoni. They argued that the entire basis of Baldoni’s lawsuit stems from two instances where Reynolds is alleged to have labeled Baldoni as a “predator”, as well as the creation and inclusion of the character “Nicepool” in the 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine, which Baldoni believes was specifically designed to ridicule him.

According to the motion, it seems that the whole of the Plaintiffs’ defamation case hinges on two instances where Mr. Reynolds is said to have labeled Mr. Baldoni as a ‘predator.’ However, the FAC does not provide any credible evidence to suggest that Mr. Reynolds did not genuinely believe this statement to be accurate.

The legal team headed by Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson for Reynolds persistently refuted Baldoni’s lawsuit, labeling it as more of a “tabloid-style gossip” laden with “hypersensitivity” rather than a genuine legal paperwork. While Reynolds’ motion doesn’t outright deny the accusation of calling Baldoni a predator, it does assert that if such an event occurred, it wouldn’t be considered defamation as long as Reynolds genuinely held that belief.

The crux of Mr. Baldoni’s argument seems to hinge on claims that Mr. Reynolds privately labeled him as a ‘predator.’ However, the motion points out a challenge: such an accusation isn’t considered defamation unless it can be proven that Mr. Reynolds didn’t genuinely believe this statement to be true. The complaint, however, doesn’t provide evidence of this belief on Mr. Reynolds’ part, and instead suggests quite the opposite – that he sincerely believes Mr. Baldoni is indeed a predator.

Mrs. Reynolds has alleged that Mr. Baldoni has behaved inappropriately towards her husband, including incidents of sexual harassment and retaliation. As mentioned in Mr. Reynolds’ request, Mr. Baldoni himself has admitted to mistreating women in the past and crossing boundaries of consent. Since Mr. Reynolds is entitled to share his opinion about Mr. Baldoni under the First Amendment, this could be reassuring for those who have frequently criticized Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds as ‘bullies’ over the last year.

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2025-03-20 22:11