Blake Lively's lawsuit merely about reputation, should be thrown out, Baldoni says

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -Justin Baldoni asked a U.S. judge to dismiss Blake Lively's lawsuit accusing the actor of sexually harassing and waging a smear campaign against her in connection with their 2024 movie "It Ends With Us." In a Thursday court filing, lawyers for Baldoni said he resolved Lively's concerns about sporadic misunderstandings and "awkward comments" on the set of the film, including over her physical appearance, as soon as she raised them. They also said Baldoni had a right to hire a crisis management firm to defend his reputation after Lively began disparaging him publicly. "This is a dispute about Hollywood reputations, not genuine legal wrongs," the lawyers for Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios said in the Manhattan federal court filing. "No reasonable juror could find that the handful of comments and miscommunications Lively has mustered amounts to sexual harassment," they added. "That Lively's reputation may have suffered is a result of her own ill-advised public statements and actions." Lawyers for Lively did not immediately respond to requests for comment. She and Baldoni co-starred in "It Ends With Us," which Baldoni also directed. Despite mixed reviews it grossed more than $351 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. JUDGE WARNED PARTIES TO TONE IT DOWN The acrimonious dispute burst into public view last December when Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department, followed by her lawsuit. It has at times transfixed Hollywood and even involved superstar singer Taylor Swift, a friend of Lively's who Baldoni wanted to question under oath. The acrimony also annoyed U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, who in August threatened all parties in the case with contempt unless the "intemperate language and personal attacks" stopped. Rhetoric has since been toned down. In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni and Wayfarer of pursuing a "carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others, from speaking out about the hostile environment" they created. She is seeking unspecified damages for alleged harassment, invasion of privacy and violations of federal and state civil rights laws. A trial is scheduled for March 2026. In June, Liman dismissed Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, saying Baldoni didn't show that Lively made defamatory statements outside her California complaint, which was protected by privilege. The judge also dismissed a claim that Lively, with help from her husband Ryan Reynolds, extorted Baldoni by refusing to promote the film unless she got more creative control. Baldoni decided in October not to refile. Liman also dismissed Baldoni's $250 million defamation case against the New York Times, which wrote about the dispute. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Howard Goller)

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