Blake Lively is demanding that Justin Baldoni cover her hefty legal expenses. Three months after Baldoni's staggering $400 million countersuit against the "It Ends With Us" star and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was dismissed in a New York court, Lively's legal team has signaled her intent to "pursue a multi-million-dollar award" to recoup the costs of defending herself against what they've labeled as "frivolous" accusations from her co-star.
According to court documents filed on September 7 and obtained by NBC News, Lively's attorneys assert that the 38-year-old actress is "entitled" to have Baldoni foot her legal bills as the "prevailing defendant" in the countersuit, in which the director accused her and Reynolds of defamation. Furthermore, Lively's legal representatives contend that she deserves "compensation for all harm caused to her" by Baldoni and his associates—including his production company, Wayfarer Studios, and his lawyer, Bryan Freedman—following what they describe as "vicious character attacks on Ms. Lively designed to damage her credibility."
"The Wayfarer Parties—acting through their lead attorney, Mr. Freedman—initiated and sustained claims that lacked factual or legal foundation," Lively's attorneys argued in their filing. "Instead, these claims were part of a calculated scheme to discredit Ms. Lively and harm her and her husband by suing them."
Lively and her legal team are urging the court to grant her motion to seek legal fees and damages from Baldoni "prior to, and separately from" her jury trial against the filmmaker, which is scheduled to commence in March 2026. Lively is suing Baldoni for sexual harassment, alleging that he fostered a hostile work environment on the set of "It Ends With Us." While Baldoni has vehemently denied these allegations, his countersuit was dismissed in early June after a judge ruled that he failed to substantiate claims that the couple had defamed him.
In a statement to E! News at the time, Baldoni's attorney, Freedman, dismissed Lively's "victory" as illusory. "Ms. Lively’s own claims are no more valid today than they were yesterday," Freedman remarked. "Armed with the facts on our side, we proceed with the same confidence we possessed when Ms. Lively and her allies initiated this confrontation."
