A judge has dismissed Justin Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against his former co-star, Blake Lively, for defamation, CNN reports.

Filed in January, Baldoni alleged that Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, allegedly sought to ruin his reputation. After collaborating on the 2024 adaptation of the romance drama novel It Ends With Us, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department accusing Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios of alleged sexual harassment and poor working conditions on the set, followed by a lawsuit in December alleging that he led a smear campaign against her for her complaint, leading Baldoni to countersue.

Now, Manhattan judge Lewis J. Liman has thrown out Baldoni’s suit, saying that his defamation claims of Lively’s complaints with the Civil Rights Department, are exempt from libel claims. A second lawsuit filed against The New York Times, which reported Lively’s complaints, was dropped for the same reason.

Judge Liman also added that Baldoni had the option to file amended accusations about breach of contract by June 23rd.

Lively’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb gave a statement, saying, “Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication…As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it.”

Baldoni, meanwhile, has agreed to pursue the amended complaint, with his attorney Bryan Freedman saying, ‘The Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations.”

As of this writing, Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios is still set to proceed in March 2026.