Blake Lively's legal team is vigorously advocating for the continuation of her case against Justin Baldoni, arguing that the toxic work environment on the set of "It Ends With Us" deserves a trial rather than a swift dismissal. In November, Baldoni's legal team filed a motion for summary judgment, imploring Judge Lewis J. Liman to toss Lively's lawsuit and avoid the March 2026 trial altogether.
On December 4th, Lively's attorneys countered with a robust opposition, painting a vivid picture of the toxic work environment created by Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties. They presented their argument for why the judge should deny the summary judgment motion and proceed with the trial. "This is not a story of minor annoyances fueled by creative differences," they wrote in the filing, "but one of a toxic work environment..."
Lively's legal team claimed that Baldoni and his co-defendants have "peddled their victimization narrative," painting her as the "bully" to "avoid accountability for the hostile environment they created." They further alleged that Baldoni and his team are attempting to "shield themselves from trial and deny Blake Lively her day in court by throwing the kitchen sink at Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation claims." However, they added, "Defendants' scattershot theories collapse under the weight of the overwhelming evidence."
In their November motion for summary judgment, Baldoni's lawyers argued that "when viewed in context, no reasonable juror could find that the handful of comments and miscommunications Lively has mustered amounts to sexual harassment." They also claimed that "no reasonable juror could find that Lively suffered an adverse employment action in any traditional sense."
In December 2024, Lively, 38, sued her costar-director Baldoni, 41, and others for sexual harassment and retaliation, which he denies. His subsequent $400 million countersuit against her, alleging extortion and defamation, has since been dismissed by the judge. "Our clients chose not to amend their complaint to preserve appeal rights," Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman said in November about the countersuit. He added, "In the meantime, we are focusing on Ms. Lively’s claims. We remain fully committed to pursuing the truth through every legal and factual avenue available and look forward to our day in court."
Freedman told TMZ in June that Baldoni "wants to be vindicated, and that's all that he cares about." He continued, "He knows who he is. He knows what he's done; he knows what he hasn't done. And he wants the truth to come out, and he wants to do that in the appropriate way... He's waiting for his day in court, where he can speak out to tell the truth."
In June, Lively shared a statement on Instagram, saying she felt "more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman's right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity, and their story."
