Blake Lively’s short-lived legal victory was overshadowed on Wednesday after a New York judge handed her a fresh courtroom defeat.
Just days after a federal judge ended Justin Baldoni’s multimillion-dollar defamation suit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times, another ruling didn’t go her way.
Lively and Baldoni, who can still appeal the judge’s decision, have been locked in a bitter legal feud since December 2024, when the It Ends With Us actress accused her co-star and director of sexual harassment on set, claims he has repeatedly denied.
Baldoni fired back at the time with his own suits against Lively, her husband Reynolds and The New York Times, accusing the paper of defaming him with its bombshell exposé detailing Lively’s harassment claims.
While that counterattack has now partially crumbled, Baldoni still faces Lively’s sexual harassment case heading to trial in March.
But Lively’s momentum hit a snag Wednesday when Judge Lewis Liman dismissed her claims against social media strategist Jed Wallace, whom she accused of helping Baldoni’s camp coordinate an online smear effort during the film’s release.
Blake Lively’s legal momentum hit a snag Wednesday when Judge Lewis Liman dismissed her claims against social media strategist Jed Wallace, whom she accused of helping Justin Baldoni’s camp coordinate an online smear effort
Lively accused Baldoni’s team of enlisting Wallace to lead an online ‘digital army’ that smeared her reputation across social platforms
The judge ruled that her legal team failed to show Wallace—who is based in Austin, Texas—had sufficient ties to New York to be sued there.
Lively accused Baldoni’s team of enlisting Wallace to lead an online ‘digital army’ that smeared her reputation across social platforms.
Judge Liman had previously tossed the claims but gave her legal team a chance to strengthen the case by proving Wallace’s ties to New York.
In the end, Liman ruled that Lively’s argument fell short, though he noted she could still pursue Wallace in Texas.
‘The Court ruled that Ms. Lively’s claims can and should be brought in a different court,’ a spokesperson for Lively told Daily Mail.
‘Ms. Lively is evaluating her many options for doing so, and looks forward to trial on all of her claims against Baldoni, Heath, Nathan and the rest of the Wayfarer defendants in March in New York.’
Wallace, meanwhile, has hit back by filing a defamation lawsuit of his own against Lively in a Texas court.
‘We are grateful for the Court’s order today, making clear that the claims against Mr. Wallace never belonged in this court,’ Bryan Freedman, attorney for Baldoni, told Daily Mail.
The judge ruled that Lively’s legal team failed to show Wallace—who is based in Austin, Texas—had sufficient ties to New York to be sued there
‘Allegations that he participated in any smear campaign are unsupported, and all claims against him have been dismissed by this court.
‘The other defendants look forward to their day in court when they will show there is no merit to Ms. Lively’s claims against them.’
The news comes after the latest allegations in the ongoing litigation between the former co-stars focus on claims the actor allegedly illicitly used technology to orchestrate a smear campaign against his costar.
Baldoni and his team of attorneys, agents and public relations professionals used digital tricks to conceal critical evidence in the legal proceedings, lawyers for Lively, 38, claimed in a court filing obtained by the Daily Mail on Wednesday.
Her team claimed: ‘Defendants have hid the ball at every turn in the discovery process, either failing to produce documents, or improperly cloaking them in the attorney-client privilege.’
Lively’s lawyers said that from Baldoni’s camp forced ‘no less than twelve discovery-related motions to date against’ them.
Baldoni had brought a suit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds
A former Baldoni associate in Jonesworks LLC – a PR firm and a third-party defendant in the case – raised similar allegations in a filing on Wednesday, Deadline reported after reviewing court documents.
Attorneys for Lively, who is wed to actor Ryan Reynolds, 49, said in the court paper that Baldoni coordinated an effort with associates from Wayfarer Studios and PR professionals such as Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, with apps, auto-deleting messages and other digital elements coming into play.
Baldoni and his team worked in concert to try to destroy Lively’s reputation with the use of multiple digital resources, which included the app Signal; voice memos; and other software, lawyers for the Los Angeles-born actress said in the court paper.
Baldoni and his associates took multiple actions indicating they were aware litigation could be in the future, and sought to conceal information in the case that would not be advantageous if publicly exposed, Lively’s lawyers said in the filing.
Details about Signal and other efforts were gleaned from depositions with former employees of Nathan, including Katherine Case and Breanna Butler, Deadline reported, citing legal documents it reviewed.
The Gossip Girl star claimed Baldoni had sexually harassed her while making It Ends with Us, which was a surprise hit when it arrived in theaters in August last year. Baldoni denied the allegation.
The movie earned $148 million at the domestic box office, and $350 million globally – but whatever goodwill the film garnered has since been overshadowed by the allegations made by its stars.
The motion picture, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, was based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover.
The storyline of the film centered around a toxic relationship between Lily Bloom (played by Lively) and Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni).
It Ends with Us, directed by Baldoni, was a surprise hit when it arrived in theaters in 2024
It earned $148 million at the domestic box office and $350 million globally – but whatever goodwill the film garnered has since been overshadowed by the allegations made by its stars
According to a logline for the film, Lily ‘overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life,’ as ‘a chance meeting with a neurosurgeon sparks a connection but Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her parents’ relationship.’
In December last year, Lively named Baldoni in a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliatory conduct, and intentional infliction of emotional stress.
In her lawsuit, the actress accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways – including body shaming her – and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.
In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni’s collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio’s CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Nathan and Abel.
Baldoni had initially asked for $250 million in damages from The New York Times mentioning a report it published on the topic, then added it into the $400 million lawsuit he filed this past January.
In the suit, Baldoni named Lively, her spouse Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, citing the aforementioned report in legal documents. It was thrown out of court this past June.
All parties have denied all of the allegations against them.
