A judge has dismissed ten of Blake Lively’s thirteen claims against ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star Justin Baldoni. While sexual harassment claims were dropped due to her independent contractor status, a breach of contract and FEHA retaliation claim against Baldoni’s company will proceed to trial on May 18. Lively’s team remains focused on exposing alleged smear campaigns.
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of sexual harrasment. There have been major developments in ‘It Ends With Us’ co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s ongoing legal battle. Per the latest reports from the recent hearing in the case, 10 of the 13 claims the actress made against Baldoni have been officially dismissed.
Judge dismisses most of Blake Lively’s pleas against Justin Baldoni
PEOPLE reported that on April 2, Judge Lewis J. Liman from the Southern District of New York dismissed 10 out of the overall claims that Lively had made against her co-star and director of the film. Two of the claims, one being the breach of contract and the other being a FEHA retaliation claim against Baldoni’s company, will continue and will be approached in their upcoming trial.Lively’s legal representatives also released a statement about the same.
Sigrid McCawley, one of the members of Blake’s legal team, stated that a lot of the claims, including the sexual harassment, were dismissed due to a specific reason. She cited, “Sexual harassment isn’t going forward, not because the defendants did nothing wrong but because the court determined Blake Lively was an independent contractor, not an employee.
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Blake Lively looks forward to going to the trial against Justin Baldoni
Despite the dismissal, Lively is staying optimistic and is looking forward to going to trial.
The statement further cited, “For Blake Lively, the greatest measure of justice is that the people and the playbook behind these coordinated digital attacks have been exposed and are already being held accountable by other women they’ve targeted. She looks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation so that it becomes easier to detect and fight.
”The legal representation also determined that the main focal point of the entire case has always been about the smear campaigns and all of the steps that the defendant (Baldoni) took to destroy the ‘The Age of Adaline’ actress. The case is officially set to go to trial on May 18.
More about the case
The legal case started in December 2024, when, soon after the release of their film ‘It Ends With Us’, Blake Lively publicly alleged that Baldoni had run a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation. The ‘Gossip Girl’ star had also filed a sexual-harassment complaint against him as well. Baldoni denied all allegations and countersued the actress, alleging that she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, were involved in extortion and defamation.
His lawsuit, worth USD 400 million dollars was dismissed last year. A lot of other celebrities have been named in the case ever since the official filing was done, which includes Taylor Swift, Ryan Reynolds, Hailey Bieber, Gigi Hadid, Hugh Jackman, Emily Blunt, and Scooter Braun.Disclaimer: The information in this report is based on a legal hearing as reported by a third-party source. The details provided represent allegations made by the parties involved and are not proven facts. The case is ongoing, and a final verdict has not been reached. The publication does not claim that the allegations are true.
