A federal judge on Thursday dismissed most claims in Blake Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit against her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star, Justin Baldoni, according to a court ruling.
In a 152-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman tossed out 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni, including harassment, defamation and conspiracy. But he allowed three other claims to proceed to a trial scheduled to begin in May: breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation.
Lively’s lawyers have said their client was “kissed, nuzzled and touched” without her consent. Baldoni was “consistently inappropriate” and crossed “boundaries” on set, her lawyers argued.
Liman ruled that Lively could not pursue those claims under federal civil rights law in part because she was an independent contractor, not an employee.
Lively also accused Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company of orchestrating a punitive “smear campaign” after she spoke out about the allegedly toxic work environment he created on the set of the movie, released in 2024.
Baldoni has denied Lively's allegations. In a January court hearing, one of Baldoni’s attorneys argued that Lively knew “It Ends With Us” would feature “hot and sexy scenes” when she signed on, suggesting that the allegations of harassment were part of the creative process behind the movie.
In a statement, a member of Lively’s legal team said the actor “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.”
“This case has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation because she stood up for safety on the set and that is the case that is going to trial,” Sigrid McCawley said.
Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach, two of Baldoni’s attorneys, said they were “pleased” Liman dismissed the sexual harassment claims.
“These were very serious allegations, and we are grateful to the Court for its careful review of the facts, law and voluminous evidence that was provided,” Shapiro and Bach said. “What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.”
“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, stars Lively as a flower shop owner whose husband, a neurosurgeon played by Baldoni, subjects her to physical and emotional abuse.
The case has reverberated across the entertainment industry, exposing private texts between A-listers and subjecting both sides in the legal battle to the broader culture war around sexual harassment.
Lively initially filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on Dec. 20, 2024, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation. She then filed a federal lawsuit against him on Dec. 31, 2024.
In late February 2025, she filed an amended complaint against him, as well as his company, the firm’s chief executive and other defendants. He filed a countersuit against her seeking $400 million, which a federal judge tossed out.
Lively’s amended complaint, which sought compensatory and punitive damages, alleged that there was a “multi-tiered plan” by Baldoni and his team to wreck her reputation.
Lively claimed that she lost $161 million because of a smear campaign that Baldoni’s team orchestrated — an allegation his lawyers have denied.
In an early February hearing, Lively and Baldoni were “unsuccessful in reaching any kind of resolution” during a court-ordered settlement conference, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said at the time.
In a Friday statement, Freedman said the defendants in this case “were not afraid of the truth.”
“The plan was not only to speak the truth but to also show that same truth over and over again through the presentation of actual evidence,” he added. ‘It is gratifying to see that the courts ruling confirms what the legal team believed from day one.”
