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Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity
Justin Baldoni's legal team have broken their silence following Blake Lively's 'victory' statement after a judge dismissed his $400 million lawsuit against her.
The 41-year-old actor first announced his plans to sue Lively back in January, in response to a lengthy complaint she'd filed against him a month prior.
In the shock lawsuit, Lively alleged that Baldoni exhibited overly sexualised behaviour towards her while on the set of the Coleen Hoover novel adaptation, It Ends with Us, and that he and his team later orchestrated a 'smear campaign' against her.
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This resulted in staff on the set being handed a list of demands about intimacy protocol and workplace behaviour, which are also referenced in her December complaint.
Baldoni subsequently denied all allegations being made against him and later sued Lively himself for defamation and extortion.
He argued that she'd 'stolen' the 2024 romantic-drama from him by issuing him with a vast plethora of production-oriented demands, and threatened to 'attack' him in the press if he did not obey said instructions.
Baldoni also claimed that Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and the couple's publicist Leslie Sloan, had worked alongside the New York Times to 'spread a false narrative that Baldoni committed sexual misconduct towards' her.
Six months later, however, and a judge has this week dismissed said suit.
According to documents obtained by E! News, Judge Lewis J. Liman had ruled both the actor and his production firm - Wayfarer Parties - had 'not adequately alleged that Lively’s threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions'.
Following the latest update, Baldoni's legal team have since issued their response.
The statement reads in full: "Ms. Lively and her team's predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling. While the Court dismissed the defamation related claims, the Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations.
"This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively's own team conveniently describes as 'untraceable' because they cannot prove what never happened."
It continues: "Most importantly, Ms. Lively's own claims are no truer today than they were yesterday, and with the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle and look forward to her forthcoming deposition, which I will be taking.
"We are grateful for the organic show of support from the public and for the dedication of the Internet sleuth community who continue to cover the case with discernment and integrity."
"Like so many others, I've felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us," the mother-of-four began.
"While the suit against me was defeated, so many don't have the resources to fight back."
Lively went on to claim she's now 'more resolved than ever' to 'stand for every woman's right to have a voice in protecting themselves'.
She also shared a list of charitable groups and organisations dedicated to fighting for women's rights, as well as domestic violence protection groups, and employment law firms.
Lively concluded her post by writing: "With love and gratitude for the many who stood by me.
"Many of you I know. Many of you I don't. But I will never stop appreciating or advocating for you."