Blake Lively is pushing to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit, citing a California law designed to protect individuals from retaliatory legal action when reporting sexual misconduct.
The 37-year-old It Ends With Us star filed her motion in federal court in New York on Thursday (March 20), arguing that Justin’s lawsuit should be dismissed under Assembly Bill 933—a 2023 amendment to California law that shields people from defamation claims when speaking out about harassment, assault, or discrimination, unless they acted with actual malice.
If the court grants Blake’s motion, Justin’s lawsuit will be dismissed, and he may even be required to cover her legal fees.
Blake’s attorneys, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, issued a strong statement about the case, calling Justin’s lawsuit an abuse of the legal process.
“This lawsuit is a profound abuse of the legal process that has no place in federal court. California law now expressly prohibits suing victims who make the decision to speak out against sexual harassment or retaliation, whether in a lawsuit or in the press,” they said in a statement provided to Just Jared.
They further argued that Justin’s case is legally flawed:
“This meritless and retaliatory lawsuit runs head first into three legal obstacles, including the litigation, fair report, and sexual harassment privileges, the latter of which contains a mandatory fee-shifting provision that will require the likes of billionaire Steve Sarowitz, Wayfarer Studios, and others that brought frivolous defamation claims against Ms. Lively to pay damages. In other words, in an epic self-own, the Wayfarer Parties’ attempt to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ has only created more liability for them, and deservedly so, given what they have done.”
In addition to her legal team’s statement, Blake’s spokesperson also addressed the broader implications of the case, stating that she is not alone in facing a defamation lawsuit after speaking out.
“The painful reality is that Ms. Lively is not alone in being sued for defamation after speaking up about being sexually harassed at work. That is entirely why California recently enacted AB 933, the Privileged Communications Incident of Sexual Assault, Harassment, or Discrimination Act, which codified California civil code section 47.1.”
They emphasized the importance of this law in protecting others from similar situations.
“While Ms. Lively has suffered greatly by speaking up and pursuing legal claims, it is important for other people to know that they have protections, and that there is a specific law that expressly protects them from being silenced or financially ruined by a defamation lawsuit because they had the courage to speak up.”
Justin Baldoni is not backing down. His lawyer, Bryan Freedman, fired back with a sharp response, accusing Blake of manipulating the legal system to her advantage.
“Ms. Lively’s recent motion to dismiss herself from the self-concocted disaster she initiated is one of the most abhorrent examples of abusing our legal system,” Freedman stated in a response provided to Just Jared.
He went on to argue that Blake is twisting legal protections to serve her own interests.
“Stringent rules are put into place to protect the innocent and allow individuals to rightfully defend themselves. Laws are not meant to be twisted and curated by privileged elites to fit their own personal agenda.”
Freedman also made it clear that Justin’s legal team intends to keep fighting.
“As we said yesterday in response to Mr. Reynolds’ same cowardly measures, we will continue to hold Ms. Lively accountable for her actions of pure malice which include falsely accusing my clients of harassment and retaliation. Her fantastical claims will be swiftly debunked as discovery moves forward, easily disproved with actual, evidentiary proof.”
Blake isn’t the only one pushing back against the lawsuit—her husband, Ryan Reynolds, has also filed legal paperwork seeking to dismiss the defamation claims against him.
With both sides standing firm, this legal battle is far from over.
