‘Vengeful and rambling’: Blake Lively asks judge to dismiss Justin Baldoni lawsuit

Blake Lively’s lawyers have fought to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s $635m lawsuit against the actress, calling it a “sinister campaign to destroy her”.

Blake Lively says Justin Baldoni’s “vengeful and rambling” defamation suit against her are should be thrown out because it is against the law.

Baldoni’s A$635 million suit against Lively for accusing him of sexual misconduct should be thrown out since claims of sexual harassment are protected from “retaliatory lawsuits,” her lawyers said in documents filed in New York federal court on Thursday local time.

Their “vengeful and rambling lawsuit against Blake Lively is a profound abuse of the legal process,” Lively’s lawyers wrote.

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are seen on the set of It Ends with Us. The former co-stars are now engaged in a legal war. Picture: Getty Images

“The law prohibits weaponising defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation.”

Lively was “legally entitled to file her complaint and disclose it to the public,” the filing says of the initial suit, which focuses on interactions between the now-battling duo during filming of It Ends With Us.

Baldoni’s countersuit amounts to a “blunt public relations” tool and is part of the actor and his production company’s “sinister campaign to ‘bury’ and ‘destroy’ her for coming forward,” the court papers allege.

Lawyers for Baldoni have yet to comment.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been locked in a back-and-forth legal battle with no end in sight. Picture: Supplied

Lively and Baldoni have been locked in a back-and-forth legal battle with no end in sight. After both filed their respective lawsuits against the other, the two have shown no signs of settling outside of court.

In December, Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more against Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights department and later in federal court.

Blake Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds has been dragged into the drama. Picture: Getty Images

Baldoni, in his own lawsuit filed in January, insisted that Lively had “falsely” accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation following the fallout of the movie’s press tour after the actress took control of the film. Baldoni’s legal team claimed that Lively had no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign and had instead worked to repair her reputation by accusing the actor and others of sexual harassment.

Lively then filed her amended complaint on February 18, claiming that two female cast members were willing to testify to the “unwelcome behaviour” Baldoni exhibited on set. However, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, slammed the new version of the lawsuit as “unsubstantial hearsay”.

Originally published as ‘Vengeful and rambling’: Blake Lively asks judge to dismiss Justin Baldoni lawsuit