Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds seek to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Pics/AFP

Hollywood couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are trying to silence actor-director Justin Baldoni, who has been accused of sexual harassment by Lively. The couple told a federal judge that they will seek to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed by Baldoni, reports Variety. Attorneys for the two sides are due in court on Monday for the first hearing on the feud between the It Ends with Us co-stars.

Justin Baldoni

Lively has accused Baldoni, who was also the film's director, of sexually harassing her on set, and then retaliating with a smear campaign when she dared to speak up about it. Baldoni and his publicists have countered that Lively defamed them by taking text messages out of context and mischaracterising their interactions. Baldoni also alleged that Lively and Reynolds pressured WME to drop him as a client, which WME denied.

The couple's attorneys filed the notice on January 30 in compliance with Judge Lewis Liman's order, which set out how the federal case will move forward. The judge asked for a letter that would "indicate in one sentence the defendant's intent to make a motion to dismiss".

Liman will set a deadline later to actually file the motion. "The Lively-Reynolds parties intend to move to dismiss plaintiffs' complaint," said Michael J Gottlieb, following the judge's instruction to keep it short. Publicist Leslie Sloane, who was also named as a defendant in Baldoni's suit, filed a similar notice. The judge has said he expects to schedule a trial for March 2026.

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