Blake Lively is seeking over $290 million in damages from Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Productions, claiming their alleged smear campaign has devastated her career, her companies and her personal wellbeing, a significant increase from the $161 million she cited in November 2025.

Court documents filed on 17 April reveal the full scale of Lively’s financial claims ahead of the pair’s trial, scheduled for 18 May. 

The Gossip Girl actress alleges that Baldoni’s alleged use of terms like “tone deaf,” “bully” and “mean girl” to damage her reputation cost her between $36.5 and $40.5 million. 

Statements made by Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman during the course of the dispute are claimed to have caused a further $24.3 million in losses, calculated by quantifying the online reach of those statements and their impact.

Her experts estimate lost income, spanning studio films, independent projects and a limited TV series, at between $34.3 million and $87.8 million, with the majority of those losses attributed to missed opportunities between August 2024 and August 2029. 

Her companies Betty Booze and Blake Brown are said to have suffered between $39.6 million and $143.5 million in profit losses as a direct result of the legal battle. 

She is also seeking between $250,000 and $400,000 for the “pain and suffering, physical pain, and humiliation” she allegedly endured.

Baldoni’s legal team pushed back in their own April 17 filing, arguing that descriptions of Lively as a “mean girl” or “difficult to work with” had been circulating long before she began working with Baldoni and Wayfarer, and therefore did not cause additional harm to a reputation that was already under scrutiny.

The case has already seen a federal judge dismiss ten of Lively’s original thirteen claims, including her sexual harassment allegations, on legal and technical grounds. 

The three remaining claims, breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation, will go before a jury next month.

Reese Witherspoon has broken her silence following a wave of criticism over her support for artificial intelligence, insisting that she is not being paid to promote the technology. 

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the Morning Show star addressed the backlash that followed her recent “AI revolution” post, clarifying that her interest stems from being a “curious human” rather than a corporate spokesperson. 

While acknowledging that her original comments certainly got people talking, she noted that her children are already learning about these tools and that she is seeing AI impact every sector of business, from “vibe coding” founders to traditional industries.

The Oscar-winning actress had previously sparked controversy by warning that women were 25 percent less likely to use AI than men, despite their jobs being three times more likely to be automated. 

This prompted a fierce reaction from followers who raised concerns about intellectual property theft, the environmental impact of data centres, and the potential for computers to replace human creativity. 

In her latest response, Witherspoon admitted these concerns are valid, stating she understands the worries regarding job security and the environment. 

She also expressed her own reservations about the rise of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), making it clear she does not believe computers should ever replace humanity.

Despite the pushback, Witherspoon remains committed to her “learn along with me” approach, viewing the technological shift as an inevitability for the future of filmmaking. 

She previously told Glamour that while people can lament the change, it is already here, though she believes physical manual building and human ingenuity will always remain the highest forms of art. 

The actress even shared a few of the specific tools she currently uses, including AI Assistant, the search platform Perplexity, and the shopping agent Vetted AI, as part of her effort to stay educated.

Thieves broke into the Drents Museum in the Netherlands in the early hours of the morning, pried open a door with a crowbar, triggered an explosion, and made off with some of Romania’s most precious ancient treasure in January 2025.

Now the authorities have recovered the artifacts. The centrepiece of the recovery is the Cotofenesti helmet, a 2,500-year-old golden artefact from the Dacia civilisation and one of Romania’s most revered national heirlooms.

Three golden bracelets were also taken in the raid. Most of the stolen items arrived at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport and were transported under armed guard to the National History Museum, where they were placed in a glass cabinet flanked by masked, armed officers.

The return came after 14 months of investigations, diplomatic negotiations between Romania and the Netherlands, and an ongoing criminal trial involving three suspects. The whereabouts of a third golden bracelet remain unknown, though the Drents Museum’s director Robert van Langh vowed the search would continue.

Van Langh, who attended Tuesday’s handover, acknowledged the weight of the moment for Romanian people in particular.

He said, “The grief, the anger and now the relief have naturally been even greater here than in the Netherlands,” adding, “Romanian national heritage has returned home.”

The theft had shocked the art world when it happened. Security footage captured three figures forcing their way into the museum in what appeared to be a swift and deliberate operation.

In the weeks that followed, fears grew that the helmet might have been melted down. Its fame and instantly recognisable appearance made it virtually impossible to sell on any legitimate market, but that same notoriety also made it a target.

When Dutch prosecutors unveiled the recovered items at a news conference earlier this month, it emerged that the helmet had been slightly dented during its disappearance. The recovered bracelets, however, were found to be in perfect condition.

For Romania, the return carried a significance that went well beyond the monetary value of the objects. Cornel Constantin Ilie, the National History Museum’s interim director, described the artefacts as “relics of our historical memory” and said the country had lived for months with the fear that part of its past could be lost forever.