How Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Reacted After Court Dismisses Gossip Girl Star's Sexual Harassment Claims

A New York judge dismissed nearly all of Blake Lively's sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni on Thursday, narrowing their bitter legal feud over the set of It Ends With Us to just three counts ahead of a May 18 trial. Lively's team and Baldoni's lawyers quickly fired back with statements hailing the ruling as a step towards justice, though from starkly opposing angles.

This showdown traces back to December 2024, when Lively first sued Baldoni, her director and co-star in the domestic violence drama adapted from Colleen Hoover's bestseller. She alleged inappropriate behaviour on set, comments about her physical appearance, demands for explicit scenes and a vicious backlash when she pushed back, including a supposed smear campaign that cost her at least $161 million in damages.

Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Feud Traced to It Ends With Us Set

What started as whispers of tension during the film's press tour exploded into open warfare. Lively claimed Baldoni crossed lines repeatedly, from shooting down her safety requests to hiring a crisis PR firm led by Melissa Nathan to bury her under negative stories.

Baldoni fired back with his own $400 million defamation suit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and others, accusing them of a plot to hijack the movie. That countersuit got the boot last June from Judge Lewis Liman, who ruled Lively's accusations were protected speech.

Baldoni's team missed a deadline to amend it late last year, sealing its fate. By February, the pair faced off in a Manhattan courtroom for settlement talks that went nowhere, Baldoni showed up twice, Lively once, and Bryan Freedman, his lawyer, called it 'unsuccessful.'

Unsealed documents earlier this year dragged in heavy hitters like Taylor Swift, once Lively's close pal, and Scarlett Johansson, Reynolds' ex, painting a picture of Hollywood's tangled loyalties. Baldoni's side argued he addressed her 'awkward comments' promptly and had every right to defend his name when the narrative flipped against him.

Lively painted it as retaliation pure and simple, a playbook to silence her.

Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Camps Speak Out Post-Ruling

Sigrid McCawley, from Lively's legal squad, framed Thursday's decision not as vindication for Baldoni but a technical knock. '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,' she told Page Six.

She stressed the harassment claims fell because Lively was ruled an independent contractor, not an employee because nothing happened. McCawley went further and Lively 'looks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation.'

For her client, real justice means exposing 'the people and the playbook behind these coordinated digital attacks,' with other women now holding them accountable too. It's a defiant spin, turning partial defeat into a rallying cry.

Baldoni's attorneys, Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach, couldn't hide their relief. '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,' they said, as per Page Six.

Praising the judge's 'careful review of the facts, law and voluminous evidence,' they called what's left a 'significantly narrowed case' and promised a robust defence come trial time.

Freedman had echoed that resolve months ago, vowing to chase 'the truth through every legal and factual avenue.' Now, with the harassment allegations, the emotional core of Lively's suit gutted, the focus shifts to breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding it.

Judge Liman left those standing against other defendants, hinting some alleged conduct might still feed into them. This slimmed-down battle arrives at a raw moment for Hollywood, where #MeToo echoes clash with countersuits and PR wars.

Lively, the polished Gossip Girl survivor turned producer, versus Baldoni, the activist director behind It Ends With Us's message of breaking abuse cycles, irony hangs heavy. Will jurors buy her retaliation tale, or his professional defence? May 18 looms, with reputations very much on the line.