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The ongoing legal battle in Hollywood has taken a significant turn, with financial stakes rising dramatically.
Blake Lively has now requested that a judge order Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to pay her nearly $8 million in legal fees and costs.
This request comes shortly after a judge dismissed Baldoni’s staggering $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
To grasp the importance of this development, it’s essential to look back at the origins of the dispute.
The conflict between Lively and Baldoni, her co-star and director from the 2024 film It Ends With Us, became public in December 2024.
Lively alleged that Baldoni sexually harassed her on set and subsequently orchestrated a negative online campaign against her following her complaints.
In response, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios denied the allegations, claiming that Lively and Reynolds were using false harassment claims to gain creative control over the film.
Baldoni then retaliated with a $400 million defamation suit against the couple. However, the court dismissed this defamation case, ruling that Lively’s allegations were protected under litigation privilege, meaning her statements made during legal proceedings couldn’t be considered defamatory.
Following this ruling, Lively dropped her own lawsuit against Baldoni and others before it went to trial, resulting in a settlement with no financial exchange, but she retained the right to seek reimbursement for her legal expenses incurred while defending against Baldoni’s defamation claim.
Earlier this month, Judge Lewis Liman ruled in Lively’s favour, allowing her to seek attorney fees under a 2023 California law aimed at protecting individuals who report sexual abuse from retaliatory defamation lawsuits.
This law functions as an anti-SLAPP provision. However, the judge denied her separate request for damages.
Court documents show that Lively’s legal team claims she was billed $7.5 million in attorney fees, with hourly rates reaching $2,187, along with an additional $540,000 in other legal expenses, leading to a total request of just under $8 million.
Her attorneys argued that granting these fees would send a strong message to those who might use litigation to intimidate others.
They noted that the legal action against Lively was “not meant to win in court” but was intended to retaliate, intimidate witnesses and the media, and deter others from coming forward with similar claims.
Lively’s lead attorneys, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, expressed their approval of the previous ruling, stating that it would serve as a warning to those who might consider weaponising lawsuits for intimidation.
In response, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, contended that Lively was awarded limited attorney fees for just one claim in a case that lasted only a few months.
He pointed out that all of Lively’s sexual harassment and defamation claims were ultimately dismissed by the court and labelled her application of the California law as an attempt to misuse legislation meant for genuine victims.
As of now, Baldoni’s legal team has not commented on Lively’s recent fee request, but they will have an opportunity to respond before Judge Liman decides on the amount.
The case remains active, and no definitive ruling on Lively’s attorney fees request has yet been made. Both parties continue to contest the fundamental facts of the dispute, and the court has yet to reach a conclusive judgment on the underlying allegations.