
Legal Expert Says Justin Baldoni Has A 'Stronger Case' In Legal Battle Against Blake Lively
By Chukwudi Onyewuchi on March 31, 2025 at 3:30 PM EDT
As the countdown to Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's lawsuit trial date continues, a legal expert has said the movie director has a higher chance of victory.
Lively and Baldoni have been engaged in a legal battle since the actress filed a sexual harassment complaint against her "It Ends With Us" costar in December 2024.
Baldoni has since responded to Lively with a $400 million lawsuit against her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
Legal Expert Gives Opinion On Justin Baldoni And Blake Lively's Trial

An attorney believes Baldoni has "the stronger case" in his legal battle with Lively.
Dina Doll is featured in the documentary "In Dispute: Lively vs. Baldoni," which begins streaming on Max on March 31 and broke down the case.
Near the end of the documentary, she said per PEOPLE Magazine, "My professional opinion, Blake Lively has the stronger case. Because all of Justin Baldoni's arguments about fame and control don't really refute her claim of sexual harassment."
Doll continued, "Those allegations — the improvising of kissing, the describing his genitalia, talking about pornography — regardless of where your workplace is, those seem to be pretty strong basis for a claim of sexual harassment."
In the documentary, Doll also discussed Lively and Baldoni's version of events in their lawsuits and said the latter's "argument isn't really that those items didn't happen; he just is saying that there's a different perspective, that they were really more consensual."
She added, "Both sides absolutely wanna get their perspective out."
What To Know About The 'In Dispute' Documentary

"In Dispute: Lively v. Baldoni" is a shorter version of "He Said, She Said: Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni," which aired in the U.K. on March 17.
The new documentary will explore the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
According to a press release from ITN Productions, the documentary will examine Blake Lively’s legal complaint against Justin Baldoni, in which she accused him of sexual misconduct on the set of his film "It Ends With Us."
She also alleged that he hired a PR firm to launch an online smear campaign against her. Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a $400 million defamation countersuit.
"With the trial set for March 2026, the special will examine the evidence on both sides and the response to the dispute on social media," the release stated.
Ian Russell, head of international at ITN Productions, described the documentary as "a timely and in-depth telling of the Hollywood story which has captured the global zeitgeist."
Justin Baldoni Accuses Former Publicist of Leaking Texts

Recently, Baldoni filed a lawsuit against his former publicist, Stephanie Jones, accusing her of leaking private text messages that ignited his ongoing legal battle with Blake Lively.
Baldoni claims that Jones "initiated this catastrophic sequence of events" by violating his privacy and leaking communications to Lively's team.
His lawyer, Bryan Freedman, stated per Variety, "Ms. Jones maliciously turned over communications from the phone she wrongfully took from her own partner to her cohort, [Lively's personal publicist] Leslie Sloane, immediately after Jones was terminated for cause by Wayfarer due to her own wrongful behavior."
Jones had previously worked with Baldoni's current publicist, Jennifer Abel, who is also suing her.
Blake Lively's Allegations And Justin Baldoni's Countersuit

In December 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and creating a toxic work environment during the filming of "It Ends With Us."
She alleged that Baldoni's behavior caused her "severe emotional distress" and detailed her concerns in a meeting where she requested "no more showing nude videos or images of women" and "no further mentions of cast and crew's genitalia." Additionally, she asked Baldoni to stop discussing her weight and her late father.
However, Baldoni filed a massive $400 million countersuit, accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation, civil extortion, and invasion of privacy.
His lawsuit argued, "This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio."
Baldoni also sent legal notices to Disney executives regarding Reynolds' "Deadpool & Wolverine" character "Nicepool," which he claimed was an intentional mockery of him.
Ryan Reynolds And Blake Lively Seek To Dismiss Baldoni's Lawsuit

Reynolds asked a judge to dismiss him from the lawsuit, arguing that Baldoni's legal action was motivated by "thin-skinned outrage over a movie character."
He defended his right to call Baldoni a "predator," stating, "Mr. Reynolds has a First Amendment right to hold Mr. Baldoni— or any man who Mr. Reynolds believes sexually harassed his wife—in 'deep disdain.'"
Lively's attorneys also filed for her dismissal, calling Baldoni's lawsuit "vengeful and rambling."
They argued, "The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation."
In response, Baldoni's lawyer said, “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."