A federal judge has significantly narrowed Blake Lively’s lawsuit against her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni, dismissing most of the claims tied to her accusations of on-set misconduct during the production of the 2024 film.
Judge Lewis Liman on Thursday struck down 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni and other defendants tied to his production company, Wayfarer Studios, including sexual harassment, defamation and conspiracy. The allegations that he allowed to proceed to trial are breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation.
In his ruling, Liman said that Lively was an independent contractor, not an employee, and therefore could not file a sexual harassment claim under Title VII, which applies only to employment discrimination. He also addressed her allegations that Baldoni’s behavior during filming a scene was inappropriate.
“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,” Liman wrote.
The trial is scheduled to begin on May 18.
In a statement, a lawyer for Lively said that the actress “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.”
Lively alleged that Baldoni created a hostile work environment on the It Ends With Us set, including making comments about her weight and body. The allegations went public in a December 2024 New York Times article.
Lively also claims that after she reported the misconduct, Baldoni and others associated with Wayfarer Studios organized a retaliatory smear campaign against her online. Baldoni maintains that the social media hate against Lively was organic and, days after the New York Times piece, sued the paper for defamation.
In January 2025, Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, alleging defamation and extortion. A judge dismissed the countersuit in June 2025.
Since then, a “he said, she said” battle has played out in the press, drawing in public figures including Lively’s longtime friend Taylor Swift, whom Baldoni attempted to subpoena. Text messages between Swift and Lively became public earlier this year after they were unsealed as part of Lively’s lawsuit.
Baldoni and Lively met last month for mediation, but were unable to reach a settlement.
It Ends With Us, which tells the story of a woman escaping a domestic violence situation, was a box office hit; two other film adaptations based on Colleen Hoover’s popular novels have been released since: Regretting You and Reminders of Him.