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Justin Baldoni says the legal fight with Blake Lively is still ongoing
Attorney Bryan Freedman says that his team refused to amend the complaint in order to keep possible appeal rights intact
After a counterclaim in the lawsuit between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively was recently closed, Justin Baldoni is still holding to his point that the fight with Blake Lively is not over yet. Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, told Page Six that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios “intentionally chose not to file an amended complaint” and emphasized that “no deadlines were missed” and the decision was made to keep appeal rights open. Whether an appeal will actually be filed by Baldoni or Wayfarer is still not known.
Baldoni vows to keep fighting as focus shifts to Lively’s claims
A moving picture lawyer Bryan Freedman in an interview with “Drew” program said the team is concentrating on Lively’s allegations, they are reserving all legal options and “looking forward” to their day in court.
“We are focusing on Ms. Lively’s claims in the meantime,” Freedman said. He and his team “remain fully committed to pursuing the truth through every legal and factual avenue available,” he added. They emphasized that they “look forward to [their] day in court.” Last week, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman wrote a final judgment noting that Baldoni and his co-plaintiffs had refused to file an amended complaint in their $400 million defamation and extortion countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.”
Baldoni vows to keep fighting as focus shifts to Lively’s claims
Attorney Bryan Freedman states that the team is putting most of their energy into dealing with Lively’s allegations while keeping all their legal options open and “looking forward” to their day in court
“At present, we are concentrating on Ms. Lively’s claims,” Freedman shared, quoting himself that he and his team “are still very much willing to follow the truth through all legal and factual means that are open to us.” He went on to say that they “cannot wait for [their] day in court.” It was reported last week that U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman made the final decision in the case pointing out that Baldoni and his co‑plaintiffs had made the choice not to file a revised complaint in their $400 million defamation and extortion countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
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Judge Liman: Baldoni’s countersuit was unconvincing; Lively’s fee motion is still live
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman noted that Baldoni’s countersuit claimed that Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane made additional statements regarding Baldoni’s behavior and that Baldoni accused The New York Times of participating in a smear campaign. However, Liman pointed out that the Wayfarer Parties “have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them,” which is a showing necessary for defamation liability.
Liman also indicated that he informed all the parties in mid-October that he would be issuing a final judgment to close the case; only Lively reacted. He allowed her motion to keep the request for legal fees open. Lively continues to accuse Baldoni; her lawsuit is set for a hearing in March 2026.
