Celebrity News January 28, 2025
Why Justin Baldoni Is Suing Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds for Exactly $400M (Report)
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s endless “It Ends with Us” legal battle has some big money at stake.
She filed a sexual harassment complaint against him and accused him of a smear campaign in the New York Times. Forbes reports, the actress later filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and others for "retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns."
Baldoni responded by suing Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million. His lawsuit, obtained by “Extra,” accuses Blake and Ryan of extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy. Justin also alleges they tried to destroy his career with false allegations of sexual harassment.
Both parties have denied any wrongdoing.
Justin Baldoni Releases Voice Memo of His Past Apology to Blake Lively
View StoryNow, a source tells DailyMail.com why Baldoni is suing Blake and Ryan for the huge sum of $400 million.
“Justin Baldoni chose $400 million because of the simple reason that Blake and Ryan's combined net worth is believed to be around that figure,' the insider said, adding, “If they were successful in their pursuits, Justin would have lost everything he has and everything he has ever worked for.”
The source continued, “He has already lost jobs including the podcast and he was dropped by his agent. Prior to this he was flourishing… People close to Justin believe Blake and Ryan deserve to be bankrupted for trying to ruin the lives of Justin and others involved in this legal nightmare.”
DailyMail.com reached out to Baldoni for comment.
The Associated Press reports a trial date for the lawsuits was set for March 9, 2026, and a New York federal judge has an initial conference scheduled for next week.
Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds’ First Outing Together Since Justin Baldoni Legal Drama
View StoryLively has also filed papers in a Texas court to have Jed Wallace deposed. She has named him in her lawsuit, accusing him of helping Baldoni’s team with the digital portion of their alleged smear campaign.
Justin’s attorney Bryan Freedman had previously addressed the smear campaign allegations with the New York Times, stating, “These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
Meanwhile, Baldoni’s team has been dropping receipts including text messages, raw footage from the set and most recently a voice memo, even after Blake’s team has asked for a gag order.
In the voice message, obtained by TMZ, Baldoni apologizes to Lively after she suggested some revisions for the rooftop scene between their two characters. He tells her “f**ked up” and that he’s a “flawed man.”
Lively’s team has not responded to the voice memo, but they recently expressed disapproval of dance scene footage being released. Along with accusing Freeman of tainting the jury pool and the court of public opinion, her legal team asked for a hearing to “address the appropriate conduct,” due to “imminent harm caused by Mr. Freedman’s misleading and selective statements and leaks."
Earlier, Freedman told TMZ of the gag order request, “Both Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds do not yet understand that there isn’t one rule for them and one rule for everybody else. If they want to unethically gag the truth by threatening to wield their power in Hollywood, we will fight it every step of the way."
Showing no fear of the gag order, Freeman stressed, “Defending ourselves is not retaliation, it is a human right."