Judge Throws Out Blake Lively’s Sexual Harassment Claim Against Justin Baldoni
Judge Throws Out Blake Lively’s Sexual Harassment Claim Against Justin Baldoni
Judge Throws Out Blake Lively’s Sexual Harassment Claim Against Justin Baldoni
A judge dismissed 10 of Blake Lively’s 13 claims against Justin Baldoni related to their time working together on It Ends With Us, including her sexual harassment allegation.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are getting some answers in their court case.
Over a year after Blake filed a lawsuit against the It Ends With Us star and director—only for him to subsequently file a later-dismissed countersuit—a New York judge threw out most of the actress’ claims, including her allegations of sexual harassment, according to an April 2 order obtained by E! News.
The judge tossed out 10 of the 13 counts, leaving her accusations of retaliation, breach of contract and aiding and abetting retaliation for a jury trial.
The judge stated that her sexual harassment allegations did not have a “substantial connection” to California needed to violate the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and didn’t fall under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act because she was an independent contractor instead of an employee.
As for claims of a smear campaign, the judge said that there is “some direct evidence that the plan to destroy Lively and her career was put into action.”
“The parties fiercely dispute the extent to which the backlash against Lively was ‘organic’ or ‘artificial,'” the judge wrote, “and which steps the Wayfarer Parties may have taken to protect themselves (versus which ones they may have taken to destroy Lively personally and her career). A jury can and should decide those questions.”
The trial is scheduled for May 18, per the BBC.
Following the ruling, Blake’s lawyer Sigrid McCawley made it clear the actress plans to move forward with the case and take her remaining claims to the jury.
“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,” the attorney said in a statement to E! News. “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.”
Her lawyer added, “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.”
E! News has reached out to Justin’s team but hasn’t received a comment.
XNY/Star Max/GC ImagesWhile Justin filed a countersuit against Blake in January 2025, accusing her of extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy, a judge dismissed the case in June of that year, only for the dismissal to remain when Justin’s legal time didn’t file an amended complaint by the November 2025 deadline.
The past year of legal back and forth saw personal emails and text messages between the parties released in documents, countersuits between Justin and The New York Times, a protective order granted for Blake and pulled in other actors involved in the film, including Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer.
Isabela, for her part, alleged in August 2025 court documents obtained by E! News that Justin and his team had acted “inappropriately” after the actress was subpoenaed in the case, while Jenny called Justin the “biggest clown” in text messages released in later documents.
Dave Benett/WireImage; Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty ImagesColleen Hoover, the author of the It Ends With Us book, also weighed in on the drama.
“It feels like a circus,” she told Elle in an interview published in November 2025. “When there are real people involved, with real feelings and emotions. This actually truly has impacted some of the actors’ careers in huge ways. And I just find it all around sad.”
For her part, the author herself had been trying to remain quiet.
“I’m just trying to stay removed from the negativity,” the 46-year-old continued. “I have my own story I could tell … but I don’t want to bring attention to it, and I don’t want to have to put someone else down to lift myself up. So, I’d rather just ignore it and let people think and say what they’re going to say.”
Overall, the legal activity and public speculation, Colleen said, shaped the way she and her loved ones thought of the novel, which had been inspired by her mother’s experiences.
Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images“Now it gives us PTSD to think about it,” she said. “I feel awful because I almost feel like she’s gone through more with the aftermath of this film, more pain than she went through with my dad, just seeing the ugliness of it.”
Meanwhile, both Justin and Blake categorically denied the allegations made by the other throughout the ordeal. In fact, after his own lawsuit was dismissed and following The New York Times’ lawsuit against the Jane the Virgin alum in October, Justin and his legal team promised to continue to fight.
“Win, lose or draw, we refuse to cave to power brokers even in the face of seemingly impossible odds,” Justin’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said in a statement to People at the time. “We continue to stand tall for a reason: the pursuit of truth, in the face of giants.”
For a look back at the many developments throughout Justin and Blake’s legal battle, read on.
Lisa/Shutterstock; AFF-USA/ShutterstockDec. 20, 2024: Blake Lively Files CRD Complaint Against Justin Baldoni & His Wayfarer Associates
Four months after the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s book It Ends With Us debuted in theaters, Blake Lively filed a California Civil Rights Department (CRD) complaint against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on Dec. 20, according to The New York Times.
In the complaint obtained by E! News, Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were listed as defendants.
Lively alleged in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates “embarked on a sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation” for her voicing her concerns about purported misconduct on set—with her saying she and other cast and crew members “experienced invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior” by Baldoni and Heath.
The actress added the alleged campaign against her caused “substantial harm” to her personally and professionally.
The accusations listed in the complaint include sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent and/or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy and interference with prospective economic advantage.
Gary Hershorn/Getty ImagesDec. 21, 2024: The New York Times Publishes Report About the Alleged Smear Campaign Against Lively
The next day, The New York Times published a report about a retaliatory smear campaign Baldoni and his associates allegedly waged against Lively—citing her CRD complaint. In its article, the outlet quoted messages sent from Baldoni and his team—including publicist Abel and crisis communications specialist Nathan—that were part of her complaint. Readers could also scroll through the court documents on The New York Times‘ website.
“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct,” Lively told the outlet, “and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Sony PicturesDec. 21, 2024: Baldoni & Wayfarer’s Attorney Responds to Lively’s CRD Complaint
After news of Lively’s complaint broke, Bryan Freedman—the attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer and its representatives—slammed Lively’s allegations.
“It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions,” he said in a statement on The New York Times website. “These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
Freedman also defended Wayfarer’s decision to hire a crisis manager, saying this was done before the marketing campaign of the movie.
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity,” he later added. “What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals.”
