Justin Baldoni’s Lawyers Reacted To ‘Significantly Narrowed’ Case After Judge’s Dismissal Of Some Of Blake Lively’s Claims

While It Ends With Us hit theaters back in the summer of 2024, the book-to-screen adaptation has continued to make headlines. This is largely because the drama film (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription) is synonymous with the long legal battle between Blake Lively and director/star Justin Baldoni. The back and forth has been going on for years, and Baldoni's lawyers recently reacted after the judge threw out the majority of the Gossip Girl star's claims. Let's break it all down.

The situation began when Lively filed a complaint against Wayfarer Studios, making a number of bold claims about her co-star and director. Baldoni responded with a defamation case, and there have been a ton of updates since. The most recent comes to us via People, which reports Judge Lewis J. Liman has dismissed 10 out of Lively's 13 claims against him. This is a big deal for the Jane the Virgin actor, and his lawyers issued a statement which reads:

Indeed, Lively's claims about harassment, defamation and conspiracy have all been dropped. What remains are "Lively’s breach of contract claim and a FEHA retaliation claim against Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Studios." So while the It Ends With Us saga hasn't ended, this is seemingly a major victory for the movie's director.

While the lawsuit hasn't been dropped altogether, Justin Baldoni is now facing far fewer claims. We'll have to see if the last few end up sticking, or if all of the claims end up being scrapped. His lawyers' statement continues, reading:

For her part, Blake Lively's own lawyers recently reacted to this legal twist. They told people that the sexual harassment claim "isn’t going forward not because the defendants did nothing wrong but because the court determined Blake Lively was an independent contractor, not an employee." They seem to think this is a technicality and doesn't take away from her claims about his behavior on set.

Of course, Lively has had a few legal victories during this experience as well. A judge previously dismissed Baldoni's libel lawsuit against Lively and Ryan Reynolds. So both parties have taken their lumps.

It should be fascinating to see how this all shakes out, especially when the two celebrities meet in court. The trial is currently set to begin May 18th, with both Baldoni and Lively expected to testify.

It Ends With Us is streaming now on Netflix. While Lively has kept working since the drama began, Justin Baldoni hasn't been attached to any new projects. As such, the stakes definitely feel high for the impending trial.