Blake Lively’s Case Against Justin Baldoni Loses Most of Its Claims — But She Is Not Done
Quick Reads
- A federal judge has dismissed 10 of the 13 claims in Blake Lively’s lawsuit against director Justin Baldoni, including sexual harassment and defamation.
- Judge Lewis Liman ruled Lively could not bring a harassment claim under federal law because she worked on the film as an independent contractor, not an employee.
- Three claims, breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation, survived and will go before a jury at a trial scheduled to begin May 18.
- Lively responded publicly, saying she was grateful the core of her case will reach a jury and vowing she will “never stop” fighting.
- The case, connected to the $350 million global hit It Ends With Us, remains one of the most closely watched legal battles in Hollywood.
A federal judge has struck down the majority of Blake Lively’s lawsuit against director Justin Baldoni, tossing out her sexual harassment and defamation claims just weeks before the case is due at trial.
In a sweeping 152-page ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 claims Lively brought against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their co-defendants. What remains heading into a May 18 trial in Manhattan federal court are claims of breach of contract, retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation against the PR firm linked to the case. Hours after the ruling, Lively published a public statement making clear she considers what survived the cut to be the real heart of the fight.
Lively filed her lawsuit on December 31, 2024, accusing Baldoni, her co-star and director on the domestic violence drama It Ends With Us, of subjecting her to sexual harassment on set and then orchestrating a coordinated online smear campaign to damage her reputation after she raised concerns. The suit alleged that the operation was “sophisticated, well-financed,” and designed to silence her before she could speak publicly.
Judge Liman’s ruling drew a careful line between conduct that might constitute harassment in a conventional workplace and conduct that occurs on a film set. In one passage cited by Rolling Stone, the judge addressed a scene in which Baldoni allegedly improvised physical contact during a slow dance, noting that actors must have room to experiment within an agreed script and that the conduct, as described, appeared directed at the character being portrayed rather than at Lively personally. On the harassment claims more broadly, Liman found that Lively’s status as an independent contractor rather than an employee placed her outside the protections of both federal and California employment law. The California claim had an additional barrier: the film was shot in New Jersey.
The retaliation claims are a different matter. Those survived, and they form the basis of what will actually be argued before a jury next month. Lively has alleged that after she raised concerns about the working environment, Baldoni’s team waged a deliberate campaign to plant and amplify negative stories about her online. Baldoni’s legal team, for their part, has argued that Lively used exaggerated misconduct allegations to seize creative control of the film and then framed Baldoni as a villain when he pushed back. The trial will be the stage where those competing accounts are tested.
The broader context makes the story impossible to separate from the film itself. It Ends With Us, an adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel about surviving an abusive relationship, grossed $350 million worldwide, one of the biggest hits of 2024. The release was followed almost immediately by visible tension between the two leads, more than a year of litigation, a mediation session in February that produced no settlement, and involvement from Taylor Swift’s legal team, which has worked to keep the pop star’s text messages out of the proceedings.
