Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
Blake Lively, alongside her husband Ryan Reynolds, has asked a judge to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit. Lively referred to it in court documents as a “ vengeful’ weapon that was weaponizing the federal courts after she accused Baldoni of sexual harassment. The filing in Manhattan federal court also shows that Lively’s lawyers called Baldoni’s lawsuit part of a broader “sinister campaign to bury and destroy” Lively’s career after she spoke about sexual harassment on the site of the film It Ends with Us.
Lively is also seeking unspecified punitive damages for damaging her emotional health and reputation. Baldoni’s lawyers have not commented on the issue and both sides are denying the other’s allegations. The feud began in December when Lively accused Baldoni of assaulting her on the set of their film It Ends With Us.
