Why Was Blake Lively's Suit Dismissed? Ryan Reynolds Reportedly 'Furious' After Wife's Case Just Got Hammered

Ryan Reynolds was reportedly 'furious' in New York last week after a US federal judge dismissed most of Blake Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against her It Ends with Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, leaving only three of her 13 claims to proceed to trial in May. The ruling, handed down 16 months after Lively filed the case in December 2024, has dramatically narrowed the legal battle, but, according to a source told Heat Magazine, has only hardened Reynolds' resolve to see his wife continue the fight.

Lively's lawsuit stems from allegations about Baldoni's conduct while they were filming It Ends with Us on a New Jersey set. In court filings, she accused him of kissing her when it was not in the script and of entering her trailer while she was breastfeeding. Her legal team brought the case under a California sexual harassment statute, even though the production was based across the country, a technical decision that would later prove pivotal.

Judge's Ruling Leaves Blake Lively Reeling

The setback came when the judge ruled that Lively could not rely on California's workplace harassment law for conduct alleged to have taken place in New Jersey. As a result, 10 of her 13 claims, including those covering harassment, defamation and conspiracy, were dismissed not on the factual merits, but on jurisdictional grounds.

For Lively, who had spent more than a year pushing the case forward, it was a brutal narrowing of the battlefield. An insider said she has refused to treat it as a final defeat.

'Blake is trying to stay strong, she's nowhere near giving up but there's no doubt having such a big part of her case thrown out has been a massive blow, but she's vowed not to stop fighting,' the source said.

The remaining claims, including breach of contract and a retaliation allegation that Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign against her after she filed the suit, are scheduled to go before a jury on 18 May. Those surviving counts now carry the weight of the entire dispute.

In the background, the personal stakes have escalated. In text messages referenced in court documents, Lively allegedly referred to Reynolds as a 'dragon' and a 'gorgeous monster' in exchanges with Baldoni, even likening herself to Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen. If the intention had been to keep her marriage out of the headlines, the case has had the opposite effect, dragging one of Hollywood's most carefully curated partnerships into the legal glare.

That is where Ryan Reynolds' fury comes sharply into focus. Friends of the couple say the Deadpool star has not only stood by his wife, but actively pushed her to keep going.

'Even if she wanted to, which she doesn't, Ryan wouldn't hear of her giving up, this is a matter of principle for him,' the insider said. 'He's furious that his wife was mistreated and he's vowed he's not going to let it stand. They both know this could drag on for a long time and that it's going to be a tough process, but they are digging in and preparing for that reality, together.'

According to the same source, Reynolds has taken on a kind of unofficial role as Lively's morale officer. 'He's doing everything he can to help keep her strong, he's constantly reassuring her, and making sure she doesn't lose her nerve on the tough days. He keeps telling her this is just one setback and not the end of the road, because there are still parts of the case moving forward and a lot that has yet to play out.'

Marriage Under Pressure

The legal dispute has arrived deep into a relationship that, from the outside, has long looked unusually solid by Hollywood standards. Lively and Reynolds met in 2010 on the set of Green Lantern, when she was still dating Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley and he was married to Scarlett Johansson. They began dating after their respective splits and married in 2012.

Four children and 14 years on, they have turned domestic banter into a public brand, trading jokes on social media and speaking openly about expanding their already busy household. In 2024, Reynolds said: 'The more the merrier. As many as possible. As many little heartbeats as possible, just running around, wrecking stuff in the house. I love it. Let's have more!'

That wholesome image has now collided with a darker narrative. Baldoni has pushed back forcefully, accusing Reynolds of transforming 'benign comments' into serious accusations and alleging that the actor helped drive a co-ordinated smear campaign against him. Those counter-claims remain as allegations, and so they have not been adjudicated in court. Both sides' competing stories will be tested more fully if the May trial goes ahead as scheduled.

Privately, however, the couple's circle describes a marriage that has absorbed the shock. 'The kind of stress they've been under this past year and a half would have broken a lot of couples, but if anything this whole ordeal has made them even more solid,' the insider said. 'They were always each other's biggest cheerleaders but Ryan has truly proven that when the going gets tough he will back his wife to the ends of the earth.'

For Lively, that support appears to be one of the few upsides of a draining saga. 'That's the only silver lining in all of this for Blake, she says it has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she married the right man,' the source added. 'He is truly her prince charming and there isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't praise him. She says without him by her side she'd have crumbled under the weight of this.'

Professionally, Reynolds is juggling the fallout with a stacked slate that includes Deadpool 4, an Apple TV series with Kenneth Branagh and a possible project with Hugh Jackman. Yet, according to those around him, his focus has narrowed.

The couple slipped to the UK last week for a brief escape, watching Reynolds' club Wrexham AFC from the stands before Lively posted a carousel of photographs from their trip. Under one shot of Reynolds at the stadium, she wrote: 'After 14.5 years together, I still take sneaky fan photos of him. I have such a crush.'

The sweetness of the post sits awkwardly alongside the harsher realities playing out in court filings and legal arguments. People close to them insist that this contrast is exactly the point: a tightly knit family trying to hold its shape while lawyers argue over what did or did not happen on a film set hundreds of miles away.

The same insider said keeping Lively's spirits up has become almost an obsession for Reynolds. 'He really knows just what to say to bring her out of the darkness and will do nearly anything to make her laugh. Ryan has always been incredibly attentive, but since this all happened, he's taken it to another level, he's beyond protective. With everything they've dealt with, the stress, the sleepless nights, the misery, it's almost become a bit of a life mission at this point. Yes, it's caused no end of heartache, but it's also made their bond that much stronger. It's very much a them-against-the-world mentality now.'