A judge dismisses most of Blake Lively's accusations against Justin Baldoni on a technicality

BarcelonaA federal judge has dismissed most of the accusations made by actress Blake Lively against actor, director, and co-producer Justin Baldoni. The performer sued him in 2024 for sexual harassment and retaliation, in thirteen lawsuits filed in court, after sharing filming for the movie It ends with us, which Baldoni directed, co-produced, and co-starred in. Now a New York judge has determined that ten of these lawsuits cannot be admitted for trial due to "legal reasons": the magistrate considered that Lively was not an employee hired by Baldoni, but rather worked on the film independently. Specifically, Lively did not sign the actor's release agreement, which would have protected her in relation to the rules on sexual harassment on set.

Therefore, the only lawsuits that are moving forward are the three that refer to breach of contract, retaliation, and complicity in retaliation. Through a statement, Lively's legal team has emphasized that the sexual harassment lawsuit is not admitted "not because the plaintiffs are innocent, but for a mere technicality" and has stressed "the devastating retaliation and extraordinary measures taken by the defendants to destroy Blake Lively's reputation, after she only defended safety on set." Baldoni's lawyers, on the other hand, have celebrated the decision: "The case has been considerably reduced, we hope to present our defense before the court to refute the rest of the accusations," they said. The trial for the accepted complaints will take place on May 18.

In the first lawsuit, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment while filming the movie It ends with us. Specifically, the actress stated that he had made non-consensual touching and inappropriate comments. He denied the accusations and said they had caused economic losses after the film's release, which he quantified at 160 million dollars. Several actresses, including Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, and Amber Tamblyn, publicly came out to support Lively.

Since 2024, Lively and Baldoni have been engaged in a lengthy legal battle. Following the actress's lawsuits, Baldoni filed a counterclaim. In a report by New York Times, the actress accused the director of carrying out a smear campaign against her and also reported him for these actions. A few months later, she also reported him for the psychological and emotional damages that this whole process has caused her. Both faced each other in court in February, in a conciliation hearing to decide whether or not to go to trial. At that meeting, they did not reach any agreement.