The legal drama between co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has taken a new turn, as Lively appears to be hitting back through the courts.
On May 19, 2025, the actress’s legal team filed a motion seeking sanctions against Baldoni’s team, accusing them of promoting a false narrative about her.
According to the newly filed court documents, the Another Simple Favor star is requesting monetary penalties. The filing states,
“Defendant Blake Lively brings this Motion for Sanctions… requesting the Court to impose monetary sanctions against… It Ends With Us Movie LLC… their attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mitchell Schuster, and their attorneys’ respective law firms…”
The motion further outlines the basis for the request, asserting,
“Claims against Ms. Lively that have no reasonable basis in law or fact were clearly brought for an improper purpose… Ms. Lively seeks sanctions in the amount of attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in defending against the baseless claims”.
Lively’s Team Accuses Baldoni’s Lawyers Of Pushing A False Narrative
The filing also addressed earlier claims made by Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, in a letter submitted to the court on May 14, 2025. In the letter, Freedman accused Blake of blackmailing her longtime bestie, pop icon Taylor Swift.
Labeling those accusations as entirely baseless, Lively’s legal team strongly pushed back, stating,
“Every lawyer certifies… that the pleadings they file with the court are not frivolous, legally unreasonable, or factually without foundation, and are not being presented for any improper purposes… The Rule 11 Plaintiffs and their Counsel have violated [this] in every respect… The FAC was filed principally as a vehicle to seed harassing media narratives against Ms. Lively”.
Shortly after the explosive filing, Blake’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, issued a detailed statement explaining their decision to take legal action against the Jane The Virgin star and his team. They stated,
“Justin Baldoni’s lawyer pulled his latest inflammatory and defamatory media stunt because he knew that both he and his clients were about to be hit with sanctions motions based on his reckless decision to file multiple frivolous claims… You can’t file lawsuits in federal court that have no basis in law or fact to create a harassing media narrative… Now they’ll face the consequences of treating federal court like a media playground”.
In his earlier filing, Bryan claimed he had received a major tip from an anonymous source. According to the alleged information, Lively’s lawyer had contacted Swift’s legal team in what was described as,
“An attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation… requested that Taylor Swift make a social media statement in support of Ms. Lively… if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively’s possession would be released”.
However, on May 15, the letter filed by Baldoni’s legal team was struck from the docket after the judge deemed it “improper”.
#taylorswift #BlakeLively #JustinBaldoni #RyanReynolds
— Kassidy with a K (@LoveMyHusband8) May 15, 2025
Bryan Freedman signs an affidavit revealing his source as someone close to Taylor and a few more details. Could it be Travis? pic.twitter.com/ksoKtnH09y
Lively’s Legal Move Sparks Social Media Backlash
The online community didn’t hold back, taking aim at Blake after her legal team filed for sanctions against Baldoni’s attorneys. Social media quickly lit up with criticism, with many accusing the actress of being overly dramatic and trying to shift the narrative. Some such comments read,
“Desperate much Blake Lively??!!”
“She is desperately trying to stop Wayfarer from investigating”.
“She thinks too much of herself”.
“I can’t wait to see BL and RR’s evil nonsense end. The hammer of justice is coming”.
“I don’t think the judge will like this motion from her when there are already other motions on this issue”.
“Using her voice to silence (her) victims again”.
“Double standard. She started it. Why is it ok for her to do and not JB to reply?”
“She seems exhausting and crazy”.
“When are they going to stop fighting with these letters to the judge?”
“Is she trying to set herself up to claim diminished capacity?”.
As tensions rise both in court and online, it remains to be seen how the judge will respond. One thing’s certain: this legal drama is far from over.