A federal judge dismissed actor Justin Baldoni’s extortion and defamation claims he brought against actress Blake Lively, The New York Times and others, while still giving Baldoni a chance to pursue limited contract-related claims in the legal feud between the “It Ends With Us” co-stars.
Baldoni’s legal complaint came in January after Lively brought her own in December alleging sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Her suit is still pending.
Dismissing Baldoni’s claims in a 132-page opinion Monday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in New York summarized them in two broad categories: First, that Lively, helped by actor Ryan Reynolds (Lively’s husband) and publicist Leslie Sloane, threatened to refuse to promote the film, which Baldoni directed, and to attack him in the press if she didn’t get control and credit. And second, that Lively, Sloane, Reynolds and the Times spread a false narrative that Baldoni committed sexual misconduct against Lively and engaged in a smear campaign against her.
Rejecting the first category, Liman said Baldoni failed to adequately allege that Lively’s threats were extortion rather than just bargaining over working conditions.
Rejecting the second category, Liman said Baldoni failed to adequately allege any false statements made to the Times, other than statements made by Lively in a complaint she filed with the California Civil Rights Department, which Liman said were legally privileged. The Times published a December story headlined, “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” citing Lively’s complaint. Liman said Baldoni has until June 23 to file an amended complaint limited to certain contract-related claims. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for expert analysis on the top legal stories of the week, including updates from the Supreme Court and developments in the Trump administration’s legal cases.
Jordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro," a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined MS NOW, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.
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