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Judge Lewis J. Liman of the Federal District Court in Manhattan has dismissed Blake Lively’s sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni in their upcoming trial. “There are limits to the response that the accused can make in response to claims of harassment,” Judge Liman wrote, per The New York Times. “There comes a point where the accused stops simply defending him or herself and starts taking action that a reasonable jury could view as retaliation for the fact that the accuser had the temerity to make the accusations.” Judge Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 claims; some of those claims applied to other areas in the trial. He said that her allegations of sexual harassment did not meet key legal requirements, but a few of her allegations fall under the retaliation claims. This isn’t the only claim in the It Ends With Us debacle to be thrown out; Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against Lively was dismissed in 2025.
“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,” Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach, two of Baldoni’s attorneys, shared with NBC News. “What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.” Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively’s team, stated, “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.” The trial is scheduled to begin on May 18.
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