Blake Lively’s team has reacted after a U.S. District Court judge ruled to throw out 10 of 13 claims against her It Ends With Us director and costar Justin Baldoni amid their ongoing legal battle.
“This case has always been and will remain focused on the devasting 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,” Lively’s attorney, Sigrid McCawley, told Luxury Handbag Shopping in a statement on Thursday, April 2. “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 statement went on, “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.”
On Thursday, Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed all but three of Lively’s accusations over Baldoni’s alleged conduct on the set of It Ends With Us.
Per court documents obtained by Us, Judge Liman, 65, tossed charges relating to harassment, defamation and conspiracy but allowed Lively, 38, to proceed to trial with allegations of breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation.
Both parties were called to a Zoom hearing on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET to discuss the shock ruling.
Their trial is currently set to begin on May 18, after Judge Liman previously delayed a March start date due to scheduling conflicts with another case.
Lively initially filed sexual harassment and workplace safety complaints with the California Civil Rights Department before suing Baldoni, 42, and associates from his Wayfarer Studios production company in New York in December 2024. The Gossip Girl alum also accused Baldoni and his associates of launching a retaliatory smear campaign against her.
“Earlier today, Ms. Lively filed a federal complaint against Wayfarer Studios and others in the Southern District of New York,” Lively’s attorneys told Us on December 31, 2024. “Ms. Lively previously sent her California Civil Rights Department Complaint in response to the retaliatory campaign Wayfarer launched against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Unfortunately, Ms. Lively’s decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks.”
Baldoni countersued Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and others, but Judge Liman ultimately dismissed the countersuit in June 2025. At the time, the couples’ attorneys declared Judge Liman’s ruling to be a “total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.”
“Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organizations united in defending women’s rights to speak up for their safety,” Lively later wrote via Instagram June 9, 2025. “Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us.”
She went on, “While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back. I’m 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.”
While the countersuit was thrown out, attorneys on both sides began the discovery process in late 2025. As part of this process, some of Lively’s private text messages with friend Taylor Swift about the case were publicly released.
The legal maneuvering has continued this year. Baldoni’s lawyers asked Judge Liman to dismiss Lively’s claims outright in January 2026, arguing that her accusations were “trivial and petty grievances.” Lively’s team fired back that their case was about “women feeling comfortable in their jobs and not being retaliated against.”
Prior to the dismissal ruling, Judge Liman granted Baldoni a one-week extension in pretrial proceedings due to a “document dump” of potential evidence as well as Lively submitting a list of 40 potential trial witnesses. Lively opposed the delay, accusing Baldoni of using “an incremental tactic to delay the trial” with his latest maneuvering.
