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Apparently, it ends with Judge Lewis J. Liman<\/strong>. On Monday, the U.S. District Court judge tossed out Justin Baldoni\u2019s<\/strong> $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively<\/strong>, Ryan Reynolds<\/strong>, Lively\u2019s publicist, and The New York Times<\/em> in the latest development in the scorched-earth feud<\/a> surrounding the making of It Ends With Us.<\/em><\/p>\n Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios company the option of amending his complaint to include only its claims of breach of contract and business interference against the couple. Baldoni\u2019s team has until June 23 to file that complaint, according to the ruling obtained by Vanity Fair<\/em>.The decision effectively means that Lively\u2019s claims of sexual misconduct about Baldoni, who directed and co-starred in the film with her, and the newspaper\u2019s December 2024 article about the matter\u2014headlined \u201c\u2018We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine<\/a>\u201d\u2014constitute protected speech.<\/p>\n The judge did allow Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios company the option of amending his complaint to include only its claims of breach of contract and business interference against the couple. Baldoni\u2019s team has until June 23 to file that, according to the ruling obtained by Vanity Fair.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe Wayfarer Parties have not adequately alleged that Sloane or Reynolds individually did any more than repeat Lively\u2019s version of events, which they had no reason to doubt,\u201d Liman wrote in the motion.<\/p>\n The ongoing legal conflagration has led to gag orders<\/a> that restrict the various parties from commenting on the dispute in general. Still, Lively posted this as a Story on her Instagram<\/a> account after the ruling: \u201cLike so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us. While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back. I’m more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.\u201d<\/p>\n There was also a statement from Lively and Reynolds\u2019 attorneys, Esra Hudson<\/strong> and Mike Gottlieb<\/strong>: \u201cToday’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively,\u201d they said. \u201cAs we have said from day one, this \u2018$400 million\u2019 lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against [those] who perpetrated this abusive litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n The dismissal also clears Lively\u2019s publicist, Leslie Sloane<\/strong>, of wrongdoing. Her attorney, Sigrid McCawley<\/strong>, said in a statement that Sloane \u201cwas wrongfully dragged into this lawsuit \u2026 to actively harm Sloane\u2019s reputation. Today\u2019s decision by the Court makes clear that Sloane did nothing wrong. Sloane stands fully vindicated, and justice has been served.\u201d<\/p>\n The judge\u2019s ruling was also a victory for the newspaper that first broke Lively\u2019s allegations. \u201cThe alleged facts indicate that the Times<\/em> reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatized manner, what it believed to have happened,\u201d the judge wrote in the motion. \u201cThe Times<\/em> had no obvious motive to favor Lively\u2019s version of events.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie Stadlander,<\/strong> a spokesperson for The New York Times<\/em><\/a>, also called Baldoni\u2019s lawsuit \u201ca meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting.\u201d He expressed gratitude to the court for dismissing it. \u201cOur journalists went out and covered carefully and fairly a story of public importance, and the court recognized that the law is designed to protect just that sort of journalism,\u201d Stadtlander said. \u201cWe will continue to stand up in court for our journalism and for our journalists when their work comes under attack.”<\/p>\n Baldoni\u2019s attorney, Bryan Freedman<\/strong>, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Still ongoing is Lively\u2019s legal complaint<\/a> against Baldoni over her allegations of mistreatment during the making of It Ends With Us<\/em>. That part, for now, has no end in sight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n