After a federal judge dismissed the majority of her legal claims against Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively is speaking out. Judge Lewis J. Liman, of the Southern District of New York, ruled on Thursday, April 2nd, that Baldoni's attempt to end the case before its May 18th trial was successful. Out of the 13 claims Lively, 38, had filed against Baldoni, 42, following a behind-the-scenes conflict on their 2024 adaptation of Colleen Hoover's It Ends with Us, ten were thrown out. A narrower set of allegations, including breach of contract and a FEHA retaliation claim against Baldoni's company Wayfarer Studios, will proceed to trial.
"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," said Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively's legal team, in a statement shared with PEOPLE. "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," McCawley continued.
The claims now dismissed in Lively's case included those related to harassment, defamation, and conspiracy. As McCawley concluded in her statement, "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."
Lively and Baldoni's legal battle began in December 2024 when the Gossip Girl alum filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni, alleging misconduct on the set of It Ends with Us and a retaliatory smear campaign, which he has denied. The director-star's counterclaims against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which involved allegations of extortion and defamation, were dismissed by Judge Liman in June 2025; Baldoni's legal team opted not to refile amended versions of those claims.
The latest ruling follows a Feb. 11th court-mandated settlement conference that ended without an agreement. Attorneys for both actors have previously reiterated that they plan to testify during the trial scheduled to take place on May 18th in New York.
