Just when you thought it was over, there is yet another twist in the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni legal saga.
Back in Court
Last month, the two sides announced a last-minute settlement – one in which Lively, remarkably, got absolutely nothing. But the agreement did allow her to continue to pursue attorneys’ fees and damages related to another part of their dispute.
That caveat is thanks to a California law called the Speak Your Truth Act, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom back in 2023. It makes certain communications about sexual harassment privileged, which is why Baldoni had his $400 million defamation claim against Lively dismissed a year ago.
But that is not all the law does. It also allows individuals sued over privileged sexual harassment communications to be paid attorneys fees and other damages. According to California Civil Code section 47.1(b):
“A prevailing defendant in any defamation action brought against that defendant for making a communication that is privileged under this section shall be entitled to their reasonable attorney’s fees and costs for successfully defending themselves in the litigation, plus treble damages for any harm caused to them by the defamation action against them, in addition to punitive damages available under Section 3294 or any other relief otherwise permitted by law.”
Lively’s team has argued any fees and damages should be trebled (read: tripled) under the California statute. Additionally, she is seeking a separate award of punitive damages, but it is unclear exactly how much total money the star wants from her It Ends It Us co-star and director.
Lawyers for Baldoni and Lively were in a New York federal courtroom fighting over the complicated issue Monday. Neither actor was at the hearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, but Baldoni’s attorney accused Lively of trying to do “an end run” around a trial that was canceled when the two agreed to settle.
Lively’s lawyer, meanwhile, claimed the lawsuit Baldoni brought against his client was exactly the kind of case the California law was designed to prevent.
The Controversy
But it’s not entirely clear that that’s the case. “Now she is back – [after] having proven nothing, having willingly walked away from this entire case, having seen her sexual harassment came case thrown out, as was his cross claim for defamation – and seeking we have no idea how much money,” Megyn explained on Tuesday’s Megyn Kelly Show.
“You take her exorbitant legal fees, and then triple them, and then add in punitive damages… this is going to be a substantial number she wants after the case is over, settled, and none of her claims on the merits have ever been heard,” she added.
Moreover, the architect and driving force behind the Speak Your Truth model legislation, attorney and law professor Victoria Burke, posted on social media that it was never her intention for the law to be used in this way.
“Never thought my bill would be in the eye of a story with all eyes watching,” Burke wrote. “As the architect of the bill, I strongly believe in the constitutionality of my bill. Unhappy with it being weaponized as a PR redemption tool by Blake Lively [and] her team. Honestly, I don’t think the judge should grant attorney fees in this matter.”
A PR Tool?
Burke, who drafted this legislation based on her experience as a sexual assault survivor, joined Megyn on Tueday to explain why she feels Lively is exploiting the law. She said she received “a communication from [the Gossip Girl star’s] attorney that mentioned that Blake was going to be moving 47.1 nationally,” even though Burke had already gotten the law introduced in 15 states and enacted in four.
“I have for years been working on moving it nationwide. I acquired three extra states last year, and I’m moving forward with different states [now],” she explained. “It takes multiple years for different states, but I received a communication from her attorney that Blake was intending to now move 47.1 nationwide, including… to New York.”
Burke said she alerted the attorney that she was already working in the Empire State and asked to be notified before further action was taken. “My whole strategy was to fly this under the radar because we usually don’t have much opposition,” she shared. “I said that oftentimes Lively is compared to Amber Heard, and so I would prefer you check with me and just stick with mentioning the California part without mentioning it’s being moved nationwide.”
“I was worried that this was going to become just a PR campaign for her, and it wasn’t going to be about survivors anymore,” Burke said. “I didn’t want her to turn my bill into the Met Gala.”
She said someone from Lively’s team responded to thank her for her perspective, but she alleged she was cut out of additional communications and meetings about moving the bill forward in New York specifically.
“It came to light that this spring her attorney was having meetings that I was unaware of with one of the advocacy groups once a week, where she was assisting and redrafting the bill,” Burke said. “I understood that she added or contributed to an additional paragraph, and I kept asking to see the additional paragraph. It was never sent to me, but I understood it was something to protect the attorneys who would be… the equivalent of Blake’s attorney. So, I asked for that portion to be removed… because I felt the focus should be on survivors purely because attorneys have insurance.”
Legal Limbo
In Burke’s view, Lively should not be entitled to her legal fees under 47.1 for two reasons. “Last year, when [Baldoni’s case] was dismissed, it was dismissed procedurally. So, I wasn’t understanding if the case is dismissed, how are you awarding damages when a jury hasn’t heard, or a judge hasn’t heard the facts [and] whether or not malice is there,” she explained. “How can you award it without, you know, fact-finding?”
And then there is the fact that Baldoni and Lively just reached a agreement to avoid going before a jury to try her significantly slimmed down case against him that no longer included the sexual assault allegations.
“When I heard the settlement had been reached, I was like, okay, that’s off the table, they’re done with this now,” Burke said. “I thought for sure they would have resolved that as well during that settlement, and then to hear it was continuing on – I was puzzled by that… As I understand, her sexual harassment claims had been dismissed, so I was a little bit confused.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Burke by tuning in to episode 1,330 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.