A federal judge in New York tossed out actor Blake Lively’s sexual harassment claims Thursday against actor Justin Baldoni over their roles in the movie “It Ends With Us,” but he left intact two retaliation claims.
The 152-page ruling by Judge Lewis J. Liman in Manhattan came after Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment among more than a dozen claims against Baldoni and other parties.
A trial is scheduled to start on May 18. A brief phone conference was conducted after Liman issued his ruling. On the call, lawyers discussed the process of jury selection for the trial.
Baldoni, who directed the movie and co-starred opposite Lively, has denied the sexual harassment claims.
Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios had countersued for $400 million against 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.
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.”
“Assuming he was improvising, the 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,” he wrote.
“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,” Liman added.
An attorney for Lively said in a statement to CBS News that the 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,” said Sigrid McCawley, an attorney for Lively. “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.”
In February 2025, Lively alleged in an amended complaint that Baldoni made other women uncomfortable on the set of “It Ends with Us.”
Attorneys for Baldoni said in a statement to CBS News that they’re “very pleased” the court dismissed the sexual harassment claims, stating they were “very serious allegations.”
“What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court,” attorneys Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach said in a statement.
“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel that begins as a romance but takes a dark turn into domestic violence, was released in August 2024, exceeding box office expectations with a $50 million debut. But the movie’s release was shrouded by speculation over discord between Lively and Baldoni.
Lively appeared in the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and the TV series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012 before starring in films including “The Town” and “The Shallows.”
Baldoni starred in the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed the 2019 film “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book challenging traditional notions of masculinity.
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