Justin Baldoni’s $400m lawsuit against It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively has been dismissed, according to reports. The legal debate kicked off following Blake and Justin’s time working together on the film, that was released last summer.
Blake initially launched a sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin – who has strongly refuted the claims. However, he hit back with a $400million defamation claim against her, her publicist and husband Ryan Reynolds, all of whom have dismissed the accusations.
Additionally, Justin launched a $250 million libel case against the New York Times over their coverage of Blake’s allegations. However, the $400million lawsuit has reportedly now been dismissed.
A spokesperson for Blake told the Daily Mail: “Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.
“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
Last month, Blake’s pal Taylor Swift was dragged into the scandal when she was officially subpoenaed to appear as a witness. The pop star was delivered a legal notice by Justin’s lawyer Bryan Freedman – a decision which had been slammed by her team as a tactic to create clickbait.
In a move that appeared to please Blake and Taylor, it was confirmed Justin would no longer be calling on the Bad Blood hitmaker to appear as a witness. Bryan Freedman had claimed Blake had called on “her high-profile friends” including Taylor to “manipulate Justin at every turn.”
Taylor, who is close friends with Blake, licensed her hit song My Tears Ricochet to be used in the film but was not involved in the making of It Ends With Us, said her reps.
They slammed the subpoena, claiming it was “designed to use Taylor Swift ’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
Justin’s legal team dropped the subpoena last month, as Blake’s spokesperson said they were “pleased” with the decision. “We supported the efforts of Taylor’s team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas directed to her counsel, and we will continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process,” they told People.
“The Baldoni and Wayfarer team have tried to put Taylor Swift, a woman who has been an inspiration for tens of millions across the globe, at the center of this case since day one,” they claimed.
They alleged that “exploiting Taylor Swift’s celebrity was the original plan in [PR professional] Melissa Nathan’s scenario planning document, and it continues to this day.”
“Faced with having to justify themselves in federal court, they folded. At some point they will run out of distractions from the actual claims of sexual harassment and retaliation they are facing,” they said.
The Mirror has contacted Justin’s representative for comment.
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Source: Mirror
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