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A judge on Monday tossed the $400 million countersuit Justin Baldoni brought against Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, accused Lively, who was Baldoni’s “This Ends with Us” costar, of taking over his movie and trying to destroy his reputation.
Baldoni also alleged in the suit that Lively falsely accused him of sexual harassment to gain control over the film’s creative direction and promotion.
The lawsuit was brought by Baldoni, his production company, Wayfarer Studios, and several publicists he worked with.
In addition to Lively and Reynolds, it includes The New York Times and Leslie Sloane, Lively’s public relations representative, as defendants. Baldoni accused Sloane of planting false stories in publications about him, and The New York Times of acting as a “conduit” for Lively’s allegations that he sexually harassed her on set.
Lively has alleged in a separate lawsuit and in a California Civil Rights Department complaint that Baldoni and his public relations representatives tried to smear her in the press.
US District Judge Lewis Liman’s Monday decision weighed whether Baldoni’s allegations — and the evidence his lawyers collected in court filings — sufficiently proved that the defendants defamed him, and that Lively extorted him by threatening to withhold publicity for “This Ends With Us” unless the movie was made under her own creative vision.
Over 132 pages, Liman wrote that Baldoni and his studio couldn’t sufficiently prove their claims to bring the case to trial.
“The Wayfarer Parties cannot recover for Lively’s alleged actions to steal creative control of the film from Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties,” he wrote. “Regardless of the propriety of these actions, they do not constitute civil extortion under California law.”
The opinion did, however, leave a door open for Baldoni to renew allegations that Lively and Reynolds illegally tried to get WME — the talent agency that represents all three actors — to cut ties with him.
According to Baldoni’s attorneys, Reynolds approached a WME executive during the premiere of “Deadpool and Wolverine” and told him that Baldoni was a “sexual predator.” The agency dropped Baldoni as a client shortly after Lively’s complaint against him.
A spokesperson for Baldoni didn’t immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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