*

Baldoni says Lively at fault for harm to reputation

*

Lively alleged hostile environment on film set

*

Lawyers for Lively not available for comment

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Justin Baldoni asked a U.S.

judge to dismiss Blake Lively's lawsuit accusing the actor of

sexually harassing and waging a smear campaign against her in

connection with their 2024 movie "It Ends With Us."

In a Thursday court filing, lawyers for Baldoni said he

resolved Lively's concerns about sporadic misunderstandings and

"awkward comments" on the set of the film, including over her

physical appearance, as soon as she raised them.

They also said Baldoni had a right to hire a crisis

management firm to defend his reputation after Lively began

disparaging him publicly.

"This is a dispute about Hollywood reputations, not genuine

legal wrongs," the lawyers for Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios

said in the Manhattan federal court filing.

"No reasonable juror could find that the handful of comments

and miscommunications Lively has mustered amounts to sexual

harassment," they added. "That Lively's reputation may have

suffered is a result of her own ill-advised public statements

and actions."

Lawyers for Lively did not immediately respond to requests

for comment. She and Baldoni co-starred in "It Ends With Us,"

which Baldoni also directed. Despite mixed reviews it grossed

more than $351 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo.

JUDGE WARNED PARTIES TO TONE IT DOWN

The acrimonious dispute burst into public view last December

when Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the

California Civil Rights Department, followed by her lawsuit.

It has at times transfixed Hollywood and even involved

superstar singer Taylor Swift, a friend of Lively's who Baldoni

wanted to question under oath.

The acrimony also annoyed U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman,

who in August threatened all parties in the case with contempt

unless the "intemperate language and personal attacks" stopped.

Rhetoric has since been toned down.

In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni and Wayfarer of

pursuing a "carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced

retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others, from speaking out

about the hostile environment" they created.

She is seeking unspecified damages for alleged harassment,

invasion of privacy and violations of federal and state civil

rights laws. A trial is scheduled for March 2026.

In June, Liman dismissed Baldoni's $400 million defamation

lawsuit against Lively, saying Baldoni didn't show that Lively

made defamatory statements outside her California complaint,

which was protected by privilege.

The judge also dismissed a claim that Lively, with help from

her husband Ryan Reynolds, extorted Baldoni by refusing to

promote the film unless she got more creative control.

Baldoni decided in October not to refile. Liman also

dismissed Baldoni's $250 million defamation case against the New

York Times ( NYT ), which wrote about the dispute.