A fresh twist has emerged in the ongoing legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, with a US federal judge allowing Baldoni’s production company to move forward with a defamation lawsuit. Page Six reported that this could potentially expose “explosive” private messages as part of the discovery process.
The ruling in favor of Baldoni marks a significant development in a complex legal dispute tied to allegations surrounding the 2024 film It Ends With Us.
Court ruling opens door to new evidence
A federal judge, Lewis Liman, ruled that Baldoni’s company, Wayfarer, can proceed with a defamation case against former publicist Stephanie Jones.
According to Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, Jones had filed for a dismissal of the case. He said, “The court rejected Stephanie Jones’ effort to dismiss the case and will allow Wayfarer’s claims, including defamation, to be tested on a full evidentiary record.”
The lawsuit alleges that Jones improperly accessed and leaked private text messages, which later contributed to damaging media coverage portraying Baldoni as a sexual harasser.
Page Six reported that this will allow the case to enter the discovery era. The court could examine communications involving several high-profile figures, including Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane.
Baldoni’s legal team has expressed confidence that a fuller evidentiary record will reveal how certain narratives were allegedly “manufactured.”
Background: A sprawling Hollywood feud
The dispute stems from Lively’s 2024 lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation. Lively also alleged Baldoni created a hostile work environment during the filming of It Ends With Us.
According to Team Baldoni, Jones disparaged his image in front of Sloane, Lively, and Reynolds and claimed she “maliciously” leaked texts that sparked a dizzying array of lawsuits. Eventually, the text messages appeared in a shocking New York Times article.
Baldoni has denied the allegations and previously filed a countersuit alleging defamation and a coordinated smear campaign, though parts of that case were dismissed in 2025.
The legal battle has since expanded into multiple lawsuits involving publicists, production teams and media organisations, with unsealed documents and text messages continuing to fuel public interest.
According to People, Baldoni’s team has accused Lively and her team of legal manoeuvring, including claims of overwhelming “document dumps” and attempts to control which communications become public.
Lively’s lawyers refuted the “document dump” description in a March 26 filing, referring to the request to extend deadlines as “an incremental tactic to delay the trial” and contending that “Defendants’ own delay should not be rewarded.”
