Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni‘s legal battle finally reached court as attorneys of both celebs attended their first hearing on February 3. The battle was started by Lively in December 2024 accusing Baldoni of creating a “hostile work environment” on the sets of their blockbuster movie It Ends With Us.
Baldoni retaliated with a counter-suit of $400 million against Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloan for extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy. He also filed a libel lawsuit of $250 million against The New York Times for pushing a “self-serving narrative”.
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Before the first hearing, Baldoni launched a website called The Lawsuit Info, on February 1. It lists details of his amended complaint and the complete timeline of relevant events. In a 168-page long document, he has shared records and screenshots of emails and text messages over the last few years.
Justin Baldoni’s bold move of launching a website and amending the lawsuit has caught the attention of Johnny Depp‘s lawyer, Benjamin Chew.
Chew represented Pirates of the Caribbean star in his defamation case against Amber Heard. During a recent chat with Law&Crime, Chew called it “bold” and “aggressive”.
Praising the move of Baldoni’s attorney, Chew said, “I think it is very impressive. Usually, you would not do something like that before a hearing. … It’s a novel approach, a bold approach.”
Comparing Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s case with Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s legal battle, he said, “In this case, I think both sides run the risk — more risk I think than in Depp v. Heard — of the jury not understanding why they should really care as much as I think the jurors may have in Depp and Heard.”
“A challenge that we had, and I think the other side had — but they really have it in this case — is to convince a jury of lay people why they should care about a dispute between two very powerful, successful, attractive actors. And I think that’s a challenge irrespective of the serious nature of the allegations,” he further explained.
Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni Case Update
The first court hearing was focused around Lively’s request for a gag order against Baldoni and his team. The hearing was overseen by New York federal Judge Lewis J. Liman, who advised both parties to adhere to the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, as per Variety.
Baldoni’s website was also discussed in court. His lawyer, Bryan Freedman defended it saying that only documents that can be accessed publicly are on the website. The Judge reportedly believed that it violated federal court procedure citing that it’s a narrative.
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The legal battle would now go to trial in March 2026. However, the judge said that he might move up the trial date if the involved parties continue to litigate in the press.
