It has emerged that Blake Lively is pursuing more than $8 million in legal costs following the dismissal of Justin Baldoni’s defamation suit against her.
According to a court filing submitted on June 30, 2026, Lively is asking Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, to reimburse $8,035,040.88 in attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses tied to the long-running fight over It Ends With Us. The request comes after U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ruled on June 12, 2026, that Lively could recover legal fees under California’s anti-retaliation defamation law, though he denied her request for additional damages and other relief.
The dispute began after Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation connected to the making of the 2024 film. Baldoni denied the allegations and later filed a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and others of defamation and extortion. That lawsuit was dismissed in 2025, and the parties reached a settlement in May 2026, but the fee issue remained unresolved. Lively’s filing says the amount sought reflects work on motion practice, discovery, and her successful effort to have Baldoni’s retaliatory defamation claims thrown out.
Baldoni’s team has argued that Lively’s request is excessive and that she is trying to expand a fee award beyond what the court allowed. A final decision on the reimbursement request now rests with the judge.
Further updates are expected.