News | Entertainment
21 Feb 2026 12:23
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively and her publicist for $400 million

    The 40-year-old actor starred alongside 'Gossip Girl' actress Blake, 37, and after she accused him of sexual harassment on set, he has decided to take her - as well as her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane - to court through his studio as part of a defamation case.


    In a statement, Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman sasaidys: "This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team's duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media.

    "It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret. Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth."

    The layer added that Blake "attempted to bulldoze reputations" with her recent media campaign and insisted that his client has "nothing to hide" with his choice to take it all to court.

    He said: "Let's not forget, Ms. Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too," the statement continues.

    "Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie."

    Despite, this, Blake's lawyers recently insisted her "serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation" are "backed by concrete facts."

    They told People magazine in a statement: "This is not a 'feud' arising from 'creative differences' or a 'he said/she said' situation.

    "As alleged in Ms. Lively's complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer [Studios] and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set. And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing."

    They went on to accuse Justin and his representatives of victim blaming and attempting to "trivialise" serious allegations.

    The statement continued: "Sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry.

    "A classic tactic to distract from allegations of this type of misconduct is to 'blame the victim' by suggesting that they invited the conduct, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied.

    "Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and offender, and suggest that the offender is actually the victim. These concepts normalise and trivialise allegations of serious misconduct.

    "Most importantly, media statements are not a defense to Ms. Lively's legal claims. We will continue to prosecute her claims in federal court, where the rule of law determines who prevails, not hyperbole and threats."

    Justin and his lawyers claimed that Blake launched her lawsuit in an effort to "reshape her public persona" with "salacious, headline-grabbing allegations."

    Just after the New Year period, the lawyers of the Hollywood star confirmed he had always intended to take Blake to court.

    At the time, they told UsWeekly; "We want the truth to be out there. We want the documents to be out there. We want people to make their determination based on receipts."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     21 Feb: Tommy Lee Jones' daughter, Victoria, died from the toxic effects of cocaine
     21 Feb: Rumer Willis has claimed she works four jobs to provide for her little girl
     21 Feb: Shia LaBeouf has been accused of assaulting two men in a bar fight
     21 Feb: James Van Der Beek is unlikely to have had a "piece of the profit" from Dawson's Creek
     21 Feb: Gina Carano is set to face Ronda Rousey in a mixed martial arts fight
     21 Feb: Miley Cyrus feels "very proud" of Hannah Montana
     21 Feb: Khloe Kardashian is "not involved in strategy or operations for Good American"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    A positive update after a scary moment for skier Fin Melville Ives at the Winter Olympics More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    A economist says New Zealanders appear to have gotten a spending hangover More...



     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Tommy Lee Jones' daughter, Victoria, died from the toxic effects of cocaine 12:17

    Cricket:
    Spinner Adam Zampa's rejecting any suggestion the Australia men's cricket team don't value the T20 format of the game 11:56

    Entertainment:
    Rumer Willis has claimed she works four jobs to provide for her little girl 11:47

    General:
    Winter Olympics 2026: Lindsey Vonn goes 'bionic' as the curling war of words continues — day 14 quick hits 11:26

    Entertainment:
    Shia LaBeouf has been accused of assaulting two men in a bar fight 11:17

    Law and Order:
    Four teenagers have been charged by New South Wales Police over the drive-by shooting of former NRL player Matt Utai in Sydney 11:06

    Entertainment:
    James Van Der Beek is unlikely to have had a "piece of the profit" from Dawson's Creek 10:47

    Law and Order:
    Auckland Council says current dog control laws are reactive - not preventative 10:46

    Business:
    A economist says New Zealanders appear to have gotten a spending hangover 10:26

    Entertainment:
    Gina Carano is set to face Ronda Rousey in a mixed martial arts fight 10:17


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd