Attorneys for Blake Lively appeared before a New York judge on Monday to demand legal fees and damages from her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni, reigniting a legal battle that was thought to have been resolved last month.
The 38-year-old actress's legal team argued that the defamation lawsuit filed against her by Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, was a retaliatory move prohibited under California law. The specific sum sought by Lively has not been disclosed.
Lively filed her initial complaint in December 2024, alleging that Baldoni, who also directed the film, made inappropriate comments about his sex life and attempted to include sex scenes not in the script. She further claimed that Baldoni orchestrated a PR and social media campaign to damage her reputation.
Baldoni and Wayfarer countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for extortion and defamation, but a judge dismissed those claims last year. Federal Judge Lewis Liman also dismissed some of Lively's claims but upheld her allegations of retaliation.
The full terms of the out-of-court settlement reached between the parties have not been made public. It Ends with Us, based on Colleen Hoover's novel, earned over $350 million at the box office in 2024.
