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Perez Hilton lists two reasons why Justin Baldoni would lose a hypothetical defamation case against CNN following dismissal of Blake Lively lawsuit
On June 12, 2025, American columnist and blogger Perez Hilton shared insights on CNN reporter's remarks about Justin Baldoni allegedly orchestrating a smear campaign against Blake Lively — an accusation present in the actress's lawsuit filed against Baldoni on December 20, 2024.
In his video, Perez Hilton mentioned the June 9 interview between Blake Lively's attorney, Michael Gottlieb, and CNN reporter Jake Tapper, where Gottlieb celebrated the dismissal of Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against his client.
For the unversed, on January 16, 2025, Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and Lively's publicist Leslie Sloane for defamation and civil extortion.
"There was a very orchestrated campaign to smear Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, to a lesser extent. What was that like? What was that like going through it, as her attorney?" Jake Tapper asked Gottlieb.
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Reflecting on his remarks, Hilton, in his video, criticized Tapper for presenting this claim as a fact without any legal proof.
"Taking a victory lap, [Blake] Lively' attorney appeared on CNN, and CNN reporter Jake Tapper presented as fact, telling the viewers that Justin Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign against the authorship queen. He didn't say allegedly. He said that happened. This has not been proven in a court of law," Hilton said.
Perez further stated that even if Justin Baldoni's team were to file a lawsuit against CNN over their statement, they would likely lose. He further cited two reasons why this hypothetical lawsuit would not succeed, even though CNN may have acted unprofessionally.
Firstly, Hilton claimed that being a public figure makes defamation cases difficult to win. Noting that the Judge has already dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit against Blake Lively and The New York Times. Secondly, he said that even though CNN acted unprofessionally, their statement was based on Blake Lively's claims against Baldoni, adding:
"CNN had to have known what they said about the smear campaign was false and shared it anyways for a defamation suit that he [Justin Baldoni] would bring to be successful. Malice is a very high bar as well to prove in a defamation case."
About the dismissal of Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against Blake Lively
On December 20, 2024, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, film producer Jamie Heath, Wayfarer Studios, and its co-founder Steve Sarowitz for sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to "destroy her reputation," as reported by People Magazine.
The following day, The New York Times published an article titled ‘We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, featuring text exchanges between Baldoni and his team, and expanding on Lively's claims of a coordinated smear campaign.
Subsequently, on December 31, 2024, the Jane the Virgin actor filed a $250 million lawsuit against the outlet for using "'cherry-picked' and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead."
On January 16, 2025, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Lively's publicist Leslie Sloane, separately, for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy.
However, on June 9, 2025, Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the motion to dismiss both of Baldoni's lawsuits against Lively, Ryan, Sloan, and The New York Times. However, he noted that Baldoni can file a second amended complaint for "breach of implied covenant" and "Tortious interference with contract" within June 3, 2025, as reported by USA Today.
The outlet noted that Judge Lewis J. Liman stated Baldoni's claims of civil extortion against Lively failed to allege that her "threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions."
Judge Liman mentioned that Baldoni's team also failed to prove Lively's alleged "extortionate acts," and Baldoni's claims of defamation did not allege that Lively is "responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged."
Furthermore, Judge Liman noted that the Wayfarer Parties alleged that Reynolds, Sloane, and The New York Times made additional statements accusing Baldoni of "sexual misconduct" and "engaging in a smear campaign."
But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane, or the Times would have "seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them," which is required for them to be "liable for defamation under applicable law."
Judge Liman continued,
"The Wayfarer Parties’ additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety."
As legal discoveries continue to emerge, Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are set to face each other in court in March 2026.
