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Blake Lively has issued a statement in response to the news of the day in Hollywood.
As you may have heard by now, the entertainment world was stunned this afternoon when a judge dismissed the defamation lawsuit brought by Justin Baldoni against his It Ends With Us co-star and her husband.
This same judge also tossed out Baldoni’s $250 million libel complaint against The New York Times, which was the first to report on Lively accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign to damage her image in 2024.
“Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organizations united in defending women’s rights to speak up for their safety,” Lively wrote via her Instagram Story not long after this bombshell dropped.
“Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us.”
The actress added:
“While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back. I’m more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.”
Lively and Baldoni have been going at it, mostly through their reps and lawyers, for months now.
As cited above, the former has accused the latter of acting in inappropriate ways while filming the aforementioned romantic drama two years ago — the latter then responded with a $400 million countersuit that claimed Lively was trying to ruin his reputation.
This secondary lawsuit is no longer on the legal table.
In her response to the dismissal, the Gossip Girl alum explained that “there are protections out there” for women in need, linking out to “some of the incredible organizations” she has worked with or knows exist such as National Network to End Domestic Violence and National Organization for Women.
She concluded:
“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.”
According to one People Magazine insider, meanwhile, the 37-year old star “cried with relief” on Monda after learning that Judge Lewis J. Liman tossed out Baldoni’s lawsuit, which accused her and spouse Ryan Reynolds of extortion, among other allegations.
Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, attorneys for Lively, spoke out in a statement after the news, telling the public:
“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it.”
They also noted that they “look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages” against Baldoni and the other Wayfarer Parties who “perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
As part of his lawsuit, Baldoni even tried to subpoena Taylor Swift as a witness to prove that Lively and Reynolds made an effort to force It Ends With Us script changes on him.
That effort failed.
Baldoni has not yet commented on the entire lawsuit also failing, but Lively’s pal and former Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costar Amber Tamblyn reacted to the judge’s decision on June 9, writing on her Instagram Stories:
“Proud of you, Blake. This is a win for women everywhere who dare to speak out.”
