Blake Lively lost her harassment lawsuit against director Justin Baldoni.
A court has dismissed the key claim in the controversial sexual harassment case against Blake Lively, the director of the film "It Ends With Us," Justin Baldoni, during the filming of the movie. This was reported by the BBC.
A New York federal judge found that the actress's accusations lacked legal merit, in part because Blake worked on the project as an independent partner, not a regular employee. The court specifically noted that the laws she cited in her lawsuit specifically protect subordinates from their bosses, but do not apply to equal business partners.
Lively also suffered a jurisdictional error: she filed her lawsuit relying on California's strict anti-harassment laws, but the judge ruled that the filming and alleged incidents took place in New Jersey.
The court's ruling also stated that some of Baldoni's actions (such as improvising intimate scenes or discussing sexual topics) could have been part of the director's creative exploration. According to the court, filmmaking should allow for freedom to experiment within the confines of a script, as long as it doesn't overstep the bounds of reason.
Although Lively actually lost on a technicality, not because Baldoni was found not guilty, the court's decision sparked a wave of vitriol and criticism directed at the actress. Users are talking about the star's "reputational suicide" and her loss in the "court of public opinion."
"Lively has ruined her entire career and reputation for nothing!", "She shouldn't have filed this complaint at all," write, for example, Daily Mail users.
Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in late 2024. The actress's main complaints centered on his behavior as a director and co-star during the filming of the movie. Blake, for example, claimed that Baldoni "held her in his arms" longer than the script called for and inappropriately touched her during rehearsals for sex scenes, creating an "atmosphere of sexual tension." The actress, who had become a mother for the fourth time by then, also considered the director's question about her weight before he was supposed to pick her up to be public "fat-shaming." Lively also claimed that in one scene, Baldoni continued kissing her after the call "Cut!", which she considered a gross violation of her personal boundaries.
The lawsuit between Lively and Baldoni devolved into a dirty legal battle. Baldoni's lawyers, seeking to prove his innocence, released videos from the set and portions of Lively's personal correspondence with crew members. In one message, Blake ironically calls Baldoni "an overly sensitive boy who doesn't understand how business works." These correspondences severely damaged Blake's position as a "harassment victim," as they portrayed her more as an overbearing boss who deliberately provoked conflict.
The director, for his part, also filed a countersuit, accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of conspiring to ruin his career. Baldoni claimed they deliberately spread rumors about his "toxicity" to justify his dismissal from the film. The actress's friend, singer Taylor Swift, was also implicated in the case. Specifically, it emerged that in a text message, the actress compared herself to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones, implying that Swift's media clout with her "dragon" would help her. Taylor quickly distanced herself from Lively after this.
At the most recent hearing, the court dismissed 10 of Blake's 13 claims. However, she can still sue Baldoni's company (Wayfarer Studios) on three counts: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation. Earlier, in June 2025, the court also dismissed Baldoni's $400 million counterclaim against Lively and Reynolds for defamation and attempted film hijacking.
Photo: "It Ends With Us"/Columbia PicturesWayfarer StudiosCindy Ord/Getty ImagesMichael Loccisano/Getty Imagesblakelively, justinbaldoni/Instagram**