Justin Baldoni is not letting Blake Lively hide her money from the jury. The actor-director filed legal documents Friday opposing Lively’s request to block any discussion of her net worth during their upcoming trial, arguing that her own financial claims make the topic impossible to ignore.
Lively has alleged she lost approximately $161 million in economic damages due to an alleged smear campaign she claims Baldoni orchestrated against her. Baldoni’s team contends that the jury needs to see her complete financial picture, including her and husband Ryan Reynolds’ estimated $380 million combined fortune, to determine whether those damage claims hold up. The Baldoni Lively net worth dispute is just one of several evidentiary fights ahead of the May 18 trial date.
The central dispute boils down to this: Lively says she lost millions. Baldoni says the jury needs context. His legal team argues that a jury cannot properly assess a $161 million loss without understanding the scale of Lively’s actual wealth and income streams.
Court documents filed Friday argue that Lively “brought her money into the drama first” when she claimed economic damages. Baldoni’s team wants the jury to hear not just about Lively’s earnings but also about Reynolds’ career decisions, specifically that Lively “typically does not accept acting opportunities which conflict with Reynolds’ acting schedule, particularly when he is able to garner a higher income for his movies than she can”.
Baldoni is also demanding that Reynolds’ “Nicepool” character from Deadpool & Wolverine be allowed as trial evidence. Lively had asked the judge to bar discussion of the character. Baldoni argues the character was designed to publicly mock him, demonstrating that Lively and Reynolds engaged in coordinated bullying rather than the retaliation he is accused of.
He claims this is the real reason he hired a crisis management team—not to retaliate against Lively for harassment complaints, but to protect his image from what he says was an assault within a major Hollywood film.
The trial has narrowed significantly since Lively first filed her lawsuit in December 2024. A federal judge dismissed 10 of her 13 claims earlier this month, including sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy allegations. What remains are three claims: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation.
The dismissal of the defamation claim has raised pointed questions about whether the $161 million damages figure remains relevant. That figure reportedly factored in lost acting projects, brand endorsement deals, and the impact on Lively’s business ventures, all tied to reputational harm that the court has now deemed non-actionable.
Baldoni’s team wants the jury to see the full financial picture, arguing that a $161 million loss claim from someone with access to a $380 million household fortune requires scrutiny. They also want the Nicepool evidence admitted to shift the narrative away from retaliation and toward what they characterize as a coordinated effort by Lively and Reynolds to damage Baldoni’s career.
Lively’s team wants financial discussions barred, along with any mention of the Deadpool character. They argue these topics are irrelevant and designed only to prejudice the jury against her.
The trial is set to begin May 18 in New York federal court. With each side fighting over what evidence the jury will see, the next few weeks will determine just how much of Hollywood’s financial secrets end up on public display.
