Blake Lively is attempting to drop claims that Justin Baldoni caused her emotional distress while working on their 2024 blockbuster “It Ends With Us.”
Court documents obtained by Page Six on Monday revealed that the “Gossip Girl” alum requested to withdraw claims that she suffered from “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and “negligent infliction of emotional distress” as a result of Baldoni’s alleged misconduct.
Lively’s filing came after the “Jane the Virgin” star’s legal team requested she sign a release form for them to access her medical and mental health records.
©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Baldoni’s legal team argued the records were vital to the actress’s “emotional distress” allegations cited in her December 2024 lawsuit.
“Instead of complying with the Medical RFPs, Ms. Lively’s counsel recently advised us, in writing, that Ms. Lively is withdrawing her [infliction of emotional distress] Claims,” Baldoni’s team responded in a filing viewed by Page Six.
The court will determine if Lively’s request will be approved.
Attorneys for the “Another Simple Favor” star told Page Six via a statement that her request was “a routine part of the litigation process that is being used as a press stunt.”
“We are doing what trial lawyers do: preparing our case for trial by streamlining and focusing it,” they said, adding that Baldoni’s team was “desperately seeking” media attention.
“The Baldoni-Wayfarer strategy of filing retaliatory claims has exposed them to expansive new damages claims under California law, rendering certain of Ms. Lively’s original claims no longer necessary,” the statement continued.
“Ms. Lively continues to allege emotional distress, as part of numerous other claims in her lawsuit, such as sexual harassment and retaliation, and massive additional compensatory damages on all of her claims.”
Lively, 37, accused Baldoni, 41, of inflicting upon her “severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration and mental anguish” in her bombshell sexual harassment lawsuit.
According to the filing, a “hands-on” meeting had to be held with Lively, Baldoni and the movie’s production team to discuss his alleged behavior, including how he allegedly showed her “nude videos or images of women” and discussed his past addicition to porn.
She accused Baldoni of launching a smear campaign to destroy her reputation as a result of reporting the alleged sexual harassment.
Lively later claimed her and Ryan Reynolds’ children — James, 10, Inez, 8, Betty, 5, and Olin, 2 — were also “traumatized” by the ongoing drama.
At the time, the “Five Feet Apart” producer’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, slammed the “shameful” and “false accusations.”
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” he told Page Six.
Baldoni filed his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds in January.
In the docs, he accused Lively of using Reynolds’ and her bestie Taylor Swift’s influence to get her way.