Judge throws out Blake Lively’s sexual harassment claims in lawsuit against Justin Baldoni
A federal court has dismissed the majority of the claims in the sexual harassment case that actor Blake Lively filed against It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
As per the BBC, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed ten of the 13 allegations against Baldoni, including harassment and defamation allegations.
The three claims left in place against Baldoni referred to breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation.
As such, these claims will now go to a civil trial, set to take place in New York on May 18th.
This ruling is the latest update in the legal battle, which stretches back to 2024, when Lively sued Baldoni for harassment and accused him of running a smear campaign on the set of It Ends With Us.
In response, Baldoni launched a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively. This was dismissed in June by a judge.
In response to the disappointing ruling, Sigrid McCawley, a member of Blake’s legal team, said in an official statement: “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 and that is the case that is going to trial.
McCawley added, “For Blake Lively, the greatest measure of justice is that the people and the playbook behind these coordinated digital attacks have been exposed and are already being held accountable by other women they’ve targeted.”
McCawley concluded that Lively “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.”
Baldoni’s team also shared a statement, as per the Daily Mail, “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.”
As such, Baldoni’s team has shared that the case heading to court is “significantly narrowed”, and the team “look forward to presenting our defence to the remaining claims in court.”
Baldoni continues to strongly deny the allegations.
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