New York, March 21, 2025 – Blake Lively has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against her by Wayfarer Studios and Justin Baldoni, escalating the high-profile legal battle surrounding the 2024 film It Ends With Us. The motion, detailed in a thread by legal analyst Leanne Newton on X, claims Wayfarer’s lawsuit is “vengeful” and “rambling,” accusing the studio of retaliating against her allegations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct.
🚨BLAKE LIVELY’S MOTION TO DISMISS🚨
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1. Well, if you thought her husband’s filing was aggressive, buckle up!
Some of the arguments are decent arguments in terms of applicable law but the language is unnecessarily aggressive.
It’s a long thread that has taken me 4 hours to… pic.twitter.com/YeBEhVQ03Y
— Leanne Newton (@kiarajade2001) March 20, 2025
Lively’s filing, submitted on March 20, asserts that her statements about sexual harassment are protected under California’s sexual harassment privilege, a legal shield for individuals with a “reasonable basis” to file such complaints. She argues that Wayfarer’s claims of defamation, false light, and civil extortion fail to identify specific defamatory statements and are time-barred by California’s one-year statute of limitations. Lively also seeks attorney’s fees, treble damages, and punitive damages, citing the law’s provisions for successful harassment claims.
Newton’s analysis, spanning 11 posts, highlights the motion’s aggressive tone and Lively’s attempt to reframe Wayfarer’s evidence. She critiques Lively’s allegations—such as claims of inappropriate behavior by Baldoni and Jamey Heath—as potentially mischaracterized, noting video evidence and Wayfarer’s denials, like Baldoni’s assertion that Lively improvised kissing scenes. Newton suggests Lively’s accusations, including the use of the word “sexy” and alleged trailer intrusions, may not meet the legal threshold for sexual harassment under California law.
11. I wanted to do a seperate post in this thread about Cal. Civ. Code. s 47.1 which is the Sexual Harassment Privilege that Lively asserts in her motion to dismiss.
It does not automatically apply just because Lively has complained of sexual harassment.
(c) “This section… pic.twitter.com/plw5qddJ1a
— Leanne Newton (@kiarajade2001) March 21, 2025
Despite the motion’s legal grounding, Newton warns Lively has a “decent chance of winning” due to the sexual harassment privilege, posing a significant challenge for Wayfarer’s attorney, Bryan Freedman. If successful, Lively’s dismissal could leave Baldoni defending against her separate lawsuit, filed in December 2024, accusing him of harassment and a smear campaign.
The legal saga, rooted in creative disputes over It Ends With Us, has captivated Hollywood, with allegations of power struggles, marketing control, and personal grievances. As the case unfolds before Judge Lewis J. Liman, industry watchers await Freedman’s response, which could reshape the narrative in this contentious clash between Lively and Wayfarer Studios.
