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Blake Lively is seeking over $160 million in damages as her ongoing lawsuit with Justin Baldoni, tied to the film adaptation of It Ends with Us, continues.
In a newly unsealed court filing obtained by PEOPLE — which was originally submitted in July before being made public on Wednesday, Nov. 5, by court order — Lively, 38, claimed she’d suffered a huge loss in past and future earnings from acting, as well as from speaking engagements, producing, appearances and more.
The amount in damages the actress is seeking includes over $56 million in lost earnings and $71 million in lost business profits, tied to her ventures Betty Buzz, Betty Booze and Blake Brown Beauty. The court filing also alleges Lively has suffered $34 million in reputational harm, based on an estimated 65 million negative impressions about her generated on social media. These figures are preliminary and will be subject to proof via expert testimony, per the filing.
She is also pursuing compensation for punitive damages, attorney’s fees and emotional distress. The filing claims Lively has been subject to “pain and suffering, physical pain, and humiliation” and is claiming damages “in the range of $250,000 to $400,000.”
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The documents — which also listed a sweeping set of potential witnesses, including many famous names like Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman — came after PEOPLE previously reported that Baldoni’s $400 million defamation countersuit against Lively had been formally dismissed by a judge on Friday, Oct. 31, after his legal team chose not to file a further amended complaint.
They’d had until June 23 to amend the claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference.
Back in June, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed the lawsuit filed by Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, against Lively, husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist — which alleged extortion and defamation — as well as Baldoni’s $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
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In a statement shared with PEOPLE after the countersuit was officially ended, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, explained why the actor chose not to file a further amended complaint.
“The truth regarding this case continuously and completely gets distorted in the media,” Freedman said.
“Even something as simple as a procedural update has resulted in a total mischaracterization,” he continued. “At this point, we have to set the record straight: no deadlines were missed. Our clients chose not to amend their complaint to preserve appeal rights.”
Freedman added, “In the meantime, we are focusing on Ms. Lively’s claims. We remain fully committed to pursuing the truth through every legal and factual avenue available and look forward to our day in court.”
Judge Liman said he contacted all parties on Oct. 17 to warn them that he would enter a final judgment to conclude the case.
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A document reviewed by PEOPLE showed that Lively was the only one to respond, asking the judge to declare a final judgment and to keep her request for legal fees active, which the judge granted.
The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni began in December 2024 when Lively sued him for misconduct on the set of It Ends with Us — which Baldoni also directed — and a retaliatory smear campaign.
In her lawsuit, Lively accuses Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of creating a hostile and discriminatory work environment, engaging in sexual harassment and orchestrating a retaliation campaign that she says derailed her career after she raised concerns. He has denied all allegations.
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Lively previously opened up about the “pain” the lawsuit had caused her in a June 9 post on her Instagram Stories after Baldoni’s countersuit was dismissed.
“Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us,” she said, adding, “While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back.”
The Gossip Girl alum added at the time that she was now “more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.”
The case is scheduled to go to trial in March 2026 in the Southern District of New York.
