Blake Lively is requesting a ruling that would force Justin Baldoni to pay millions of dollars for filing a defamation suit against her.
In a motion obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 9, Lively’s attorneys argued the actress is entitled to “reasonable attorney’s fees and costs for successfully defending [herself] in the litigation.” (Variety was the first to report the news.)
Documents reveal Lively, 38, will also seek treble damages for economic, emotional and psychological harms she claims she endured as a result of the suit, as well as punitive damages for Baldonis’ alleged abuse of the court system.
In 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Protecting Survivors from Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act. In court documents, Lively’s team cites the law, stating that it “ensures that individuals who experience sexual harassment or retaliation are able to share their experiences with courts, agencies, the press and others without fear of being sued for doing so.”
“Sadly, Ms. Lively is not alone in facing a retaliatory defamation suit after speaking out about harassment at work,” a spokesperson for Lively said in a statement to Us on Tuesday. “That is precisely why California enacted AB 933: to make clear that survivors are protected when they speak up, and that those who weaponize the legal system to silence them will be held accountable, not just for attorneys’ fees, but for treble damages and punitive damages as well.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Baldoni’s legal team for comment on the motion.
Baldoni’s attorneys believe the law does not apply to Lively’s case. They also argue that their client’s defamation lawsuit was not filed as a form of intimidation, but had a factual basis.
“In essence, Lively asks the Court to find that she is immune from any culpability for her wrongful acts, and instead it is the Wayfarer Parties who must be punished for daring to exercise their constitutional right to seek a remedy from the Court for her lies,” Baldoni’s attorneys wrote in a memorandum obtained by NewsNation.
In a previous filing obtained by Variety, Baldoni’s team also claimed “Lively fabricated her allegations of sexual harassment, either wholesale or by exaggerating benign (and not harassing) interactions in a concerted, malicious effort to seize control of the Film and later to restore her reputation after a well-publicized series of marketing missteps that sullied her reputation.”
Lively and Baldoni’s legal drama began in December 2024, when the actress accused her It Ends With Us costar and director of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and purposefully creating a smear campaign against her.
Lively proceeded to sue Baldoni, alleging that she was retaliated against for the sexual harassment allegations.
Baldoni strongly denied the allegations and countersued Lively. In June, a judge dismissed his $400 million countersuit against the actress.
“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it,” Lively’s lawyers said in a statement to Us at the time. “We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages.”
On July 31, Us confirmed that Lively began her deposition. Her case against Baldoni is tentatively scheduled to go to trial in March 2026.
