Blake Lively has pledged to continue with her high-profile lawsuit against her It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni, even after a judge threw out out most of her claims.
The claims dismissed by Judge Lewis Liman included those related to sexual harassment, defamation and conspiracy.
In total, three out of Lively’s original 13 claims will proceed to trial. Those relate to breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation.
In a statement to The Independent, a member of Lively’s legal team, Sigrid McCawley, 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. 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.”
As for the reason some claims are not being taken to trial, McCawley stated: “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.”
In a separate statement, Baldoni’s legal representatives, Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach of Shapiro Arato Bach, told The Independent: “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.
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“What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.”
The long-rumbling legal proceedings began in dramatic fashion on December 20, 2024 when Lively filed a bombshell lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and claiming that Baldoni’s behavior caused her “severe emotional distress”.
Baldoni directed and co-starred alongside Lively in the 2024 romance drama It Ends With Us, based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. The story follows a flower shop owner (Lively) who falls in love with a charming yet abusive neurosurgeon (Baldoni).
Author Hoover, who served as an executive producer on the film, spoke out last November against the “ugliness” of the ongoing legal drama.
“It feels like a circus,” she told Elle last month. “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.”
Sharing that her book was inspired by her mother’s own story of abuse, Hoover said it “now gives us PTSD to think about it.”
“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,” the Verity author said. “I can’t even recommend it anymore. I feel like [the lawsuit] has overshadowed it.”
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