June 16, 2025
On June 9, Willkie and co-counsel Manatt won the dismissal of a $400 million countersuit brought by Hollywood director Justin Baldoni against Willkie clients Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, as well as against Leslie Sloane, Vision PR LLC, and The New York Times, for defamation, extortion, tortious interference and other claims. The court’s dismissal of the entire lawsuit, including the core defamation claim, is an important victory for Lively, as well as for victims of sexual harassment or retaliation who may wish to speak out without fear of facing retaliatory lawsuits.
Willkie and Manatt are representing Lively in a suit filed on December 31, 2024 in the Southern District of New York in connection with sexual harassment she and others experienced while filming the movie “It Ends With Us.” Soon after that case was filed, Baldoni filed a countersuit asserting, among other claims, civil extortion by Lively through leveraging power to seize creative control over the film, and defamation by sharing sexual harassment and retaliation claims with The New York Times in advance of the public filing of her claims. Among other notable portions of the ruling, in dismissing the defamation claim, the court recognized that Lively’s alleged “act of providing the [ ] complaint to the Times”—is protected by the litigation privilege and fair report privilege.
Lively’s suit remains unaffected by the court’s order, with trial scheduled for 2026.
The Willkie team is led by Michael Gottlieb, and includes partners Meryl Governski, Kristin Bender, and Aaron Nathan, and associates Michaela Connolly and Melissa Taustine.
Michael Gottlieb appeared on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper to discuss the June 9 court decision. Click here to view the interview.
