Key keywords: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, $7.5 million attorneys' fees, It Ends With Us legal dispute, celebrity defamation lawsuit, Hollywood frivolous litigation, California anti-SLAPP law, A-list celebrity legal battle In the latest update to the high-profile legal feud between former *It Ends With Us* collaborators, Blake Lively has filed an official motion in Los Angeles County Superior Court requesting Justin Baldoni cover nearly $7.5 million in legal fees she incurred defending herself against his recently dismissed defamation claim. The conflict first emerged earlier this year, following the theatrical release of the Colleen Hoover novel adaptation, where Baldoni served as both director and co-star opposite Lively, who played lead character Lily Bloom. Baldoni initially filed a 37-page defamation lawsuit against Lively in March 2024, alleging that she had orchestrated a targeted smear campaign against him to undermine the film’s release, spread false accusations of unprofessional on-set behavior, and sabotage his upcoming production deals and brand partnerships. He claimed Lively used her 42 million+ social media followers to sway public opinion against him, costing him an estimated $10 million in lost revenue. Last month, a California judge granted Lively’s motion to dismiss Baldoni’s lawsuit in full, ruling that all of his claims lacked credible, admissible evidence and qualified as frivolous litigation under the state’s anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) statute, designed to protect people from baseless lawsuits intended to silence critics. In the newly filed fee request, Lively’s legal team detailed that the $7.5 million sum covers more than 10,200 hours of work over 7 months from a team of top-tier entertainment litigators, forensic evidence analysts, and witness coordination specialists. The filing breaks down costs to include evidence collection, 19 separate witness depositions, multiple motion drafting and filing fees, and pre-trial preparation work that was rendered unnecessary by Baldoni’s unsubstantiated claims. Legal experts note the request aligns with California state law, which allows prevailing parties in anti-SLAPP cases to recover all reasonable legal costs from the party that filed the frivolous suit. As of press time, Baldoni’s legal team has not released a formal response to the fee request, but insiders close to the director told entertainment outlets he plans to challenge the amount, claiming the figure is inflated and disproportionate to the actual work completed on the case. A court hearing to review the fee request is scheduled for October 17, 2024, in Los Angeles.