Thursday, April 2, 2026

Blake Lively Suffers Huge Defeat in Justin Baldoni Case, Judge Tosses 10 out of 13 Claims Including Sexual Harassment, Defamation, Conspiracy

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It almost ends with this.

Blake Lively has lost most of her case against Justin Baldoni in case over the movie “It Ends with Us.”

Judge Louis Liman (brother of director Doug Liman) tossed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims including sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy.

The judge allowed just three components to go forward: breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation.

Lively alleged that Baldoni, the director and co-star, sexually harassed her on set by making untoward comments about her appearance and weight.

The sexual harassment part, which Lively turned into a crusade to destroy Baldoni, was thrown out because the filming took place in New Jersey and the case was filed in California. That seems like an amazing mistake since Lively has the resources to hire the best lawyers in the world thanks to husband Ryan Reynolds.

There’s a trial set for May to cover the three remaining items. But it would be best for Lively to settle with Baldoni and this legal nightmare. It’s done nothing to help her Reynolds, who was accused of taking control of the movie during the shoot. Millions of dollars have been spent on nothing but tarnishing their reputations.

Meantime, Baldoni owns the rights to the sequel, “It Starts with Us,” also by Colleen Hoover. He can either make it — presumably without Lively — or sell it to someone else for a lot of money. He’s in what we used to call “the cat bird seat.”

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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