Justin Baldoni releases website against Blake Lively following amended lawsuit

Actor and director Justin Baldoni has issued new accusations against actress Blake Lively, news outlet The New York Times and others in a newly amended lawsuit. The lawsuit is seeking $400 million in compensatory damages. 

Lawyers for Baldoni filed a 224-page amended counterclaim on Friday, Jan. 31. Along with the counterclaim, they also released a website on Saturday, Feb. 1.

Why are the two stars suing each other? 

The two Hollywood stars have both filed lawsuits against each other. It began in December 2024, when Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni alleging sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of “It Ends With Us.” Baldoni was the director and both he and Lively co-starred in the film.

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The New York Times had posted an article stating that after Lively raised concerns on set, Baldoni and a producer hired crisis management experts who tried to “destroy” Lively’s reputation. 

Baldoni denied the allegations and sued the news outlet for $250 million for libel. He alleged The Times pushed an “unverified and self-serving narrative” by only using some “cherry-picked” communications without the right context. 

The Times defended itself, saying they were just following the facts. The news outlet said its story was, “meticulously and responsibly reported,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Officials at The Times said it was “based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails.”

Then in late December 2024, Lively sued again, stating that Baldoni and his team were trying to undermine her reputation for speaking up about sexual misconduct on the set of the film. 

On Jan. 16, Baldoni filed his second lawsuit. In it, he names Lively, her husband and actor Ryan Reynolds and their publicist as defendants. The lawsuit claims the three extorted, defamed and invaded the privacy of Baldoni. The lawsuit also claims that the smear campaign Lively accused Baldoni of was not real.   

What does Baldoni’s amended lawsuit allege? 

In the amended lawsuit, Baldoni claims that Lively’s complaint against him was filed after Lively and her team spent several months telling The Times lies about him. It also alleges that the news publication had Lively’s civil rights complaint 11 days before The Times report was published. 

What did the website show?

Besides the amended lawsuit, Baldoni’s team also released a website. It had the newly-amended lawsuit but it also has a 168-page document showing an outline of the events.

The document shows never-before-seen texts and emails that Baldoni allegedly exchanged with Lively and Reynolds. 

Baldoni said he launched the website to refute Lively’s claims that he sexually harassed her.

Representatives for both Lively and Reynolds have not spoken on the amended lawsuit or the website.

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What’s next in the case?

Both sides are now getting ready for the court cases. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 9.