In a surprising twist in the ongoing It Ends with Us legal saga, Justin Baldoni is officially backing away from refiling any claims in his massive $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
Despite being granted the option to amend his original claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract, Baldoni has decided to let it go, for now. This update lands just two weeks after Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni’s explosive lawsuit, which had accused Lively of defamation, extortion, and running a retaliatory smear campaign.
According to Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, the decision to not amend isn’t about defeat. “The court’s decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign,” Freedman said in a statement. He also emphasized that discovery is ongoing and that Baldoni’s legal team remains confident they’ll beat what he called “factually baseless accusations.” Rather than rework old arguments, the actor-director plans to explore “additional legal options” moving forward.
Judge Liman’s June 9 ruling also threw out Baldoni’s $250 million libel suit against The New York Times, which had reported on Lively’s initial misconduct complaint filed in December 2024. After the decision, Freedman voiced frustration on TMZ Live, calling the court’s move “not fair” and “not right.” But he insisted that Baldoni is determined to clear his name in court. “He knows who he is. He knows what he’s done. He knows what he hasn’t done,” Freedman said. “He wants the truth to come out… and he’s waiting for his day in court.”
However, the opposing side doesn’t seem fazed. A rep for Blake Lively told PEOPLE, “The court dismissed the frivolous $400 million Baldoni-Wayfarer lawsuit in its entirety.” They went on to slam Baldoni’s team for claiming they’d refile after the dismissal, calling the whole thing a “sham lawsuit” and labeling the ruling a “total victory.”
Meanwhile, the court isn’t done sorting through messy details. Earlier this month, Judge Liman also denied Lively’s motion to keep her private texts with Taylor Swift out of the discovery process. Even though Swift didn’t have an official role in the film’s production, her 2020 track “My Tears Ricochet” was featured on the It Ends with Us trailer and soundtrack. Baldoni’s team claims they never received access to communications between the two friends and now argue that those messages are critical to the ongoing lawsuit.
The Justin Baldoni lawsuit against Blake Lively remains one of the biggest Hollywood legal showdowns in recent memory, with the trial for Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al. set for March 2026. Whether Baldoni pursues those “other legal options” or not, one thing’s certain, this legal drama is far from over.
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