Pop Culture

The Justin Baldoni Countersuit is Dead, But the Courtroom Drama Lives On, Says ‘Girls Gotta Eat’

November 9, 2025

There’s a difference between a story being over and a story being quiet. The Justin Baldoni vs. Blake Lively situation falls firmly into the second category. And on Girls Gotta Eat, hosts Rayna Greenberg and Ashley Hesseltine make it clear that while the headlines about Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit disappearing may look like closure, this saga is nowhere near finished.

If anything, the part that just ended was the counterattack—the big, chest-puffing lawsuit Baldoni filed after Lively sued him for sexual harassment and retaliation connected to It Ends With Us. The part that actually started this whole thing—the original suit, the thing this has really been about—is still very much alive. Because if you thought the countersuit was the story, you were just watching a preview.

The countersuit is gone, but the real case is still coming

In the episode, Greenberg explains the timeline clearly: “She first filed a civil case, sued him, and then he countersued for $400 million.” The countersuit being dismissed doesn’t take the initial allegations with it. And that is where the stakes really sit.

Hesseltine follows by saying, “They have a court date scheduled for March of 2026, so this lawsuit that she filed against him is still going forward.” That date matters. A 2026 trial means a flurry of discovery, motions, filings, leaks, public commentary, and—given the caliber of names involved—press coverage everywhere.

Meanwhile, the countersuit was dismissed because Baldoni did not respond to the judge’s order to amend his claims by the deadline. In the legal world, failure to respond is a tacit concession.

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The high-stakes question: Will the trial be televised?

When Greenberg wonders aloud, “Is it going to be televised?” she’s tapping into the cultural memory of the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial. That trial became a media ecosystem unto itself—TikTok commentary, livestream breakdowns, think pieces, memes, merch, and performative legal experts. It was entertainment, for better or worse.

However, if cameras enter the Baldoni-Lively courtroom, this becomes a live public referendum on celebrity power, believability, character, and gender dynamics in Hollywood that will make the Depp-Heard case look like a Judge Judy episode.

The host, though, also acknowledges the unknown. “What are the standards for televising a court case? I actually don’t know,” Greenberg says. Hesseltine answers by reading straight from the source: “Most state courts allow cameras at a judge’s discretion.” And because this is a civil, rather than a criminal, case, cameras are more, not less, likely to appear.

Why this case is nowhere near the finish line

The reason this is still a live fuse is that Lively’s case was always the center of gravity. Her lawsuit alleges that Baldoni behaved inappropriately on set, including physically crossing boundaries and pushing for sexual content that wasn’t necessary to the film.

The countersuit was a deflection—an attempt to shift the narrative toward a smear campaign.

But the judge has already ruled that the statements in question were either protected speech or linked to formal reporting, meaning the argument that Lively and Ryan Reynolds orchestrated reputational destruction didn’t meet the legal threshold. So, while the countersuit goes out the door, the original complaint remains—and that is the case going to trial.

And the hosts on Girls Gotta Eat are aware of the emotional anticipation in the culture. Greenberg admits that she’s “been foaming at the mouth for March 2026 for this lawsuit to go forward.”