It Ends With Us continues to make headlines thanks to the ongoing legal battle between Blake Lively and the movie's star and director Justin Baldoni. One of the most recent updates came when Lively's tried to get the defamation case dismissed, and now both actors' teams are issuing statements as the situation continues to unfold.
Blake Lively's lawsuit against Wayfarer Studios kickstarted an epic saga, with Baldoni filing a defamation case against Lively and Ryan Reynolds. The publication Us Weekly reported new statements from the lawyers involved, in direct response to the most recent filings.
How Lively Is Trying To Get The Defamation Case Dismissed.
In this recent legal maneuver, Blake Lively's lawyers claimed that she was protected from the defamation lawsuit thanks to California Civil Code section 47.1. That ruling specifically protects victims of sexual assault and/or harassment from being sued by those whom the allegations are against. The lawyers are also claiming that Baldoni's lawsuit is past the one year-libel period. Only time will tell how things shake out, and if either of these claims end up seeing the case thrown out.
How Justin Baldoni's Lawyers Have Responded.
This is just the latest twist in this legal battle, with Lively and Baldoni both in danger of spending quite a bit of money. Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman issued a statement to Us Weekly about the filing, which reads:
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. 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.
He certainly didn't mince words. With the legal situation still playing out in the courts, It Ends With Us (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription) is going to continue turning heads for the foreseeable future. Justin Baldoni's lawyer is clear about how the legal team feels about Lively's latest attempt to get the case dismissed, with his statement continuing:
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. Her fantastical claims will be swiftly debunked as discovery moves forward, easily disproved with actual, evidentiary proof.
As previously mentioned, both Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were named in Justin Baldoni's defamation case, which has a hefty $400 million price tag. And the more the situation goes on the more it seems likely that this trio of celebrities could end up battling in court.
Blake Lively's Spokesperson Offers Another Take.
Alongside the comment from Baldoni's lawyers came a statement from one of Lively's reps. It reads:
The late night flurry of answers — instead of motions to dismiss — reveal that [Baldoni and Wayfarer defendants] know that they have no legal arguments remotely capable of dismissing our complaint. They have instead accepted that Ms. Lively’s complaint states valid legal claims that they could not muster a single reason to dismiss. Meanwhile, every person and entity the Baldoni-Wayfarer team sued has moved to dismiss their meritless PR stunt.
Both parties continue to maintain their evidence, and are seemingly not intending on backing down anytime soon. Only time will tell if this dismissal actually occurs, or if the legal battle continues and eventually sees them facing off in court. Celebrity lawsuits have a tendency to take over the pop culture zeitgeist, which results in the court of public opinion also coming down. We'll just have to see how the ongoing situation plays out.
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