Blake Lively Loses Most Claims Against It Ends With Us Co-Star Justin Baldoni Ahead of Trial

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The legal dispute, which started in December 2024, is still ongoing. Just before the trial begins on May 18th, Blake Lively has had 10 of her 13 original claims dismissed.

Just before a scheduled conference call between the Baldoni and Lively legal teams on April 2nd at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, the judge issued a ruling. Lively lost most of her claims in the case, including the central claim of sexual harassment that formed the basis of her lawsuit.

A recent court ruling, accessible on CourtListener, saw U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman (brother of filmmaker Doug Liman) dismiss most of Blake Lively’s lawsuit. Judge Liman rejected 10 of the 13 claims, including allegations of harassment, defamation, and conspiracy. However, Lively can still proceed to trial on three claims: breach of contract, retaliation, and assisting in retaliation. While not a complete victory, this allows Lively to continue pursuing her claim that she was the target of a deliberate smear campaign.

The judge ruled in favor of the Wayfarer Parties, dismissing Lively’s claims of sexual harassment. This is because the court determined that those claims weren’t strongly enough connected to California, specifically regarding Counts Three and Thirteen of the SAC. As a result, Lively’s federal and state claims will not proceed.

The judge ruled in favor of most of the requests, but three claims will continue. These are Lively’s claims that It Ends With Us Movie LLC and Wayfarer Studios retaliated against her, her claim against The Agency Group PR LLC for helping with that retaliation, and her claim that It Ends With Us Movie LLC broke a specific agreement called the Contract Rider Agreement.

Let’s talk about the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding It Ends With Us. The production was already rocky, significantly hampered by the SAG-AFTRA strikes. But things really hit a snag when Blake Lively presented a detailed list of demands after the strikes ended. From what I understand, this list allegedly outlined instances of sexual harassment and stipulated that production couldn’t continue unless these issues were addressed. It required Justin Baldoni, the producer Jamey Heath, and others to essentially sign off on her terms to move forward – a pretty powerful stance, and a serious situation for everyone involved.

After the film’s release, produced by Justin Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios and distributed by Sony, the cast appeared to avoid Baldoni at the premiere, without publicly explaining why. Blake Lively faced backlash during the film’s promotion for seemingly downplaying the movie’s themes of domestic violence. Then, in December 2024 – four months after the August premiere – a New York Times article alleged Lively experienced sexual harassment during filming and that Baldoni tried to discredit her publicly.

Following that, both Baldoni and Lively sued each other, alleging defamation and other issues. Last year, most of Baldoni’s lawsuits were thrown out because California law prevents someone accused of sexual abuse or harassment from also suing for defamation. The Wayfarer Parties decided not to pursue those dismissed claims again and won’t appeal the decision until Lively’s lawsuit is resolved.

Despite initial concerns, the film It Ends With Us proved to be a major success, earning $350 million globally on a $25 million budget. This made it a significant achievement for director Justin Baldoni and his studio, as well as the most commercially successful film to date for Blake Lively. The movie was also the first adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s work, and since then, two more of her novels – Regretting You (2025) and Reminders of Him (2026) – have been adapted for the screen. Another adaptation, Verity, is scheduled to be released later this year.

Baldoni and his team responded to Lively’s accusations with their version of what happened. A major setback for Lively occurred when her text messages were made public, appearing to confirm Baldoni’s assertion that she tried to take credit for the movie.

This whole situation got really messy, and a lot of big names were involved – even Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Swift, and Matt Damon! I was shocked to read the texts where Blake Lively called the director, Baldoni, some pretty harsh names like “clown” and “doofus.” What really struck me, though, was how she seemed to use Taylor Swift’s song, “My Tears Ricochet” – the one they used in the trailer and the end of the movie – to try and get what she wanted with the film. It just felt like a really strange power play.

The case remains on track for trial on May 18.

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2026-04-03 00:16