Justin Baldoni's lawyer blasts Blake Lively's 'malicious' legal tactics

Justin Baldoni's lawyer slammed Blake Lively’s attempt to dismiss his lawsuit, calling it “abhorrent” and vowing to hold her “accountable."

For the unversed, on Thursday, March 20, the 37-year-old actress’ lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, filed a motion to dismiss Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit.

They called the lawsuit “vengeful and rambling” and described it as a “profound abuse of the legal process that has no place in federal court."

Later that day, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, responded in a statement to PEOPLE, saying, “Ms. Lively's recent motion to dismiss herself from the self-concocted disaster she initiated is one of the most abhorrent examples of abusing our legal system.”

He added, “Stringent rules are put into place to protect the innocent and allow individuals to rightfully defend themselves. Laws are not meant to be twisted and curated by privileged elites to fit their own personal agenda.”

Freedman also mentioned his response to a motion filed by Ryan Reynolds on March 18. In that filing, the Gossip Girl star’s husband asked the court to dismiss the Cloud actor’s defamation claim against him.

“As we said yesterday in response to Mr. Reynolds' same cowardly measures, we will continue to hold Ms. Lively accountable for her actions of pure malice which include falsely accusing my clients of harassment and retaliation,” he clarified.

“Her fantastical claims will be swiftly debunked as discovery moves forward, easily disproved with actual, evidentiary proof,” Freedman concluded by stating.

For those unversed, in December 2024, Lively sued Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, and others, accusing them of s**** harassment and trying to ruin her reputation with a planned “smear campaign."

In response, Baldoni sued Lively, her husband Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloane's PR firm Vision PR, Inc. for $400 million in January. His lawsuit was about problems behind the scenes of It Ends With Us, a film in which he worked opposite Lively.

On Thursday, Lively’s lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said Baldoni’s lawsuit had no legal basis. They said it was just an attempt to silence her.

The Shallows star’s team stated that Baldoni and the others he sued are covered by California Civil Code Section 47.1. This new law bans “retaliatory lawsuits” against people who speak publicly about s*** harassment.

Lively’s team also said Baldoni’s claim that she “conspired” with The New York Times is just an “intimidation tactic.” They argued that she had the legal right to share the details of her complaint.

It is pertinent to mention that their trial is set for March 9, 2026, which is one year from now.