A newly filed sworn declaration alleges that an unnamed individual endured "repeated, negative interactions" with actor and filmmaker Justin Baldoni and his associates, and may testify for Blake Lively in her ongoing litigation against Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios.
The declaration, whose signatory’s name has been redacted, was filed under penalty of perjury on Sept. 4, 2025, and was obtained by U.S. tabloids. It states the person experienced verbal abuse by Baldoni, was reportedly barred from set during most of production of a project tied to Wayfarer, and asked that Baldoni not be involved in marketing or public relations efforts. A source told TMZ the individual is "likely to testify against Justin in Lively's trial." The Daily Mail reported it had reached out to Baldoni’s representatives and had not heard back.
The declaration also references Wayfarer co-founder Steve Sarowitz, saying the accuser had been contacted by Sarowitz’s assistant to arrange a meeting, though it did not identify a topic for that meeting. The filing does not directly concern Lively’s allegations related to the 2024 film It Ends With Us, according to the documents; it instead concerns a different project connected to Wayfarer.
The fresh allegations arrived as Lively filed a 30-page motion in federal court seeking attorney’s fees, treble damages and punitive damages under California Civil Code Section 47.1. In that filing, Lively’s lawyers argue that Wayfarer’s defamation suit against her was "baseless from the start" and constituted a retaliatory action after she reported harassment and retaliation. The motion asks the court to recognize Lively as the prevailing defendant and to impose severe penalties, including treble and punitive damages, and to award her legal fees.
Lively’s motion also accuses Wayfarer executives of attempting to "damage her credibility and conceal their own unlawful acts" by flooding the public docket with redacted exhibits and character attacks. It cites alleged threats by Sarowitz, quoting language attributed to him in the filing in which he vowed to use significant resources to harm Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds. The motion includes an alleged statement by Sarowitz that used an extended analogy to describe his intent toward Lively and Reynolds, material the filing says demonstrates retaliatory motive.
The dispute between Lively and Baldoni has generated multiple lawsuits and counterclaims since late 2024. In December 2024, Lively sued Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment on set; Baldoni denied the allegations and, along with Wayfarer Studios, filed a defamation suit against Lively, Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane and Ryan Reynolds. Baldoni separately filed a $250 million suit against The New York Times over its reporting on the harassment allegations.
On June 9, 2025, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively and related claims against Reynolds, Sloane and The New York Times. In his order — obtained by media outlets — the judge concluded that the statements at issue were contained within privileged court filings and that the Wayfarer parties had not adequately alleged that third parties would have doubted the truth of those statements based on the information available to them. The order said The New York Times had reviewed available evidence and reported what it believed had happened, and that it had no obvious motive to favor Lively’s version of events.
The new declaration and Lively’s motion seeking statutory and punitive remedies are likely to figure in pretrial proceedings and dispositive motions ahead of any trial. Court calendars and filings in the federal case show ongoing activity, including the recent submissions from both sides that seek to shape the evidentiary record and the scope of claims that may proceed to trial.
The parties have traded public statements and legal filings in multiple venues while attorneys for both sides have pressed claims and defenses in filings now central to the federal action. The Daily Mail and TMZ published the newly obtained documents; TMZ reported the potential testimony. Requests for comment to Baldoni’s representatives were reported as unanswered by the Daily Mail.
The litigation raises questions about the interplay of workplace harassment complaints, defamation law and California’s anti-SLAPP-like protections in the form of Civil Code Section 47.1, which Lively’s lawyers invoked. The provision is designed to deter retaliatory lawsuits against people who come forward with harassment complaints, and Lively’s motion argues the Wayfarer parties’ defamation claims were exactly that.
As the federal case proceeds, the court will consider motions that could narrow issues for trial or dispose of claims entirely, and any additional sworn declarations or witness identifications could affect the timing and scope of those proceedings. For now, the newly filed declaration adds another allegation to the record while Lively presses for statutory damages and fees and Wayfarer continues to defend its previously filed claims.