Blake Lively has spoken out after a judge dismissed her allegations of sexual harassment and fat-shaming from her It Ends With Us co-star, Justin Baldoni
Blake Lively’s team have issued a statement(Image: GC Images)
Blake Lively has broken her silence after a judge dismissed parts of her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. The It Ends With Us star accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and defamation.
A federal judge dismissed 10 of 13 claims Thursday, leaving intact three, including retaliation, that will let a jury hear many of the allegations anyway. The written ruling by Judge Lewis J. Liman in Manhattan came after Lively, who starred in and produced the film, sued co-star and director Justin in December 2024. A trial is scheduled for May 18.
Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios had countersued Lively and her husband, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. The judge dismissed Baldoni’s claims last June. In his ruling, Liman determined that Lively was an independent contractor rather than an employee. On that basis, he said she was not entitled to bring sexual harassment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law prohibits employment discrimination on various grounds, including gender.
But shortly after the judge made the decision, Blake’s team have since responded with a statement. Sigrid McCawley, a member of Blake’s legal team said: “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.
“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.” McCawley 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.
“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.”
However, Baldoni’s team responded, telling the Daily Mail: “We’re very pleased the Court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and every claim brought against the individual defendants: Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel.
“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. What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defence to the remaining claims in court.”
As to retaliation, the judge said some evidence might enable a jury to conclude that Baldoni’s production company planned not only to damage Lively’s reputation but to destroy her career amid fear she’d file a discrimination claim. Lively alleges a smear campaign has been “devastating for her reputation and career,” the judge noted.
In an analysis of the sexual harassment claims, the judge said Lively’s claims had to be viewed in the context of the movie they were working on. “Lively claims that during filming, Baldoni leaned in and gestured as if he was intending to kiss her, and that he kissed her forehead, rubbed his face and mouth against her neck, put his thumb to her mouth and flicked her lower lip, caressed her, and leaned into her neck, saying ‘it smells good,'” the judge wrote.
He said there was no question that the conduct would support a hostile work environment claim if it happened on a factory floor or in an executive suite. However, the judge noted, Baldoni was “acting in the scene”, and his “conduct was not so far beyond what might reasonably be expected to take place between two characters during a slow dancing scene such that an inference of hostile treatment on the basis of sex would arise. At least in isolation, the conduct was directed to Lively’s character rather than to Lively herself.”
Liman added: “Creative artists, no less than comedy room writers, must have some amount of space to experiment within the bounds of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment.”
Despite those findings, the judge said some sexual harassment claims may be put to a jury to support two retaliation claims that survived the ruling, including one against It Ends With Us Movie LLC and Wayfarer Studios, and a third claim that was left intact alleging breach of a contract rider agreement against It Ends With Us Movie LLC.
The judge noted that Baldoni once said “pretty hot” after asking Lively to remove her jacket, exposing a lace bra underneath, and that when he was warned that it was inappropriate and distracting to make such comment, he allegedly rolled his eyes and responded: “Sorry, I missed the sexual harassment training.”
Liman also cited a scene in which Baldoni pushed for Lively to perform a birth scene naked, and then the scene was filmed over several hours without the set being closed to nonessential personnel.
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