Justin Baldoni urges judge to toss Blake Lively lawsuit over ‘petty slights’

An attorney for actor Justin Baldoni asked a federal judge on Thursday to throw out Blake Lively’s lawsuit related to their 2024 film It Ends with Us, arguing that her sexual harassment and retaliation case amounts to no more than “petty slights.”

Lawyers representing Lively rejected that characterization, alleging that Baldoni and other defendants took liberties to foster a sexually charged work environment during production that marginalized women, and later publicly attacked Lively after she raised concerns.

Lively, 38, claims Baldoni, who directed and starred in the film along with his company Wayfarer Studios, orchestrated efforts to silence her and others from speaking out about what she describes as a hostile set environment.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman heard roughly three hours of arguments in a Manhattan courtroom as he considered whether the case should proceed.

These followed an acrimonious, 13-month battle that transfixed Hollywood and involved celebrities including Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds and longtime friend Taylor Swift.

Liman did not say when he would rule. Lively is seeking unspecified damages for alleged harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy and violations of federal and state civil rights laws. A trial is scheduled for May 18.

Thursday's hearing followed this week's release of thousands of pages of documents, including Lively's claim that Baldoni pressured her unnecessarily to simulate nudity during a film scene in which her character gave birth in a hospital.

Also released were messages between Lively and Swift, including a December 5, 2024, text where the superstar singer likened Lively and Baldoni's relationship to "a horror film no one knows is taking place."

Jonathan Bach, a lawyer for Baldoni, told the judge that "context matters," and that in the context of a film with adult situations, including a pregnancy where people on set aimed for "a certain aesthetic," the "trivial things and petty slights" that Lively alleged didn't support letting her case continue.

"It's not enough to show that sex or sexuality found its way into the workplace," Bach said. "Their burden is to show that it not only entered the workplace, but was used to discriminate against women."

Bach also characterized Lively's case as being littered with "small potatoes," prompting the judge to say: "A whole bunch of little things can add up to a big thing."

Esra Hudson, a lawyer for Lively, countered that Baldoni's behavior was "consistently inappropriate and crossing boundaries," including by deviating from the script and adding unnecessary sexual content.

Hudson said this included the birth scene, as well as a dance sequence in which Baldoni allegedly "nuzzled" Lively without consent.

"You can see the look on her face," Hudson said. "She is clearly having her boundaries crossed in that moment ... She did not think this should be a hot and sexy movie at all."

Liman questioned whether some individual defendants, including Baldoni and Wayfarer Chief Executive Jamey Heath, should be held responsible for others' conduct, and how closely Baldoni was required to adhere to the script.

"Your proposition would seem to have every director's decision decided by a jury, and that can't be right," Liman told Hudson.

In seeking a dismissal, lawyers for Baldoni said he resolved Lively's concerns, including over her physical appearance, as soon as she raised them, and that he had a right to hire a crisis management firm after Lively began disparaging him publicly.

The dispute burst into public view in mid-December 2024, when Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department, followed by her lawsuit, and a New York Times article titled: "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine."

Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and Reynolds of trying to destroy his reputation, but Liman dismissed that case in June. The judge also dismissed Baldoni's related $250 million defamation case against the Times.

"It Ends with Us" generated mixed reviews but grossed more than $351 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.