Lively vs. Baldoni: Legal Battle Narrows

0:00On April 3rd, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal battle from the It Ends With Us movie just hit a big milestone. Back in December 2024, Lively sued Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios, and others for sexual harassment on set and a smear. Campaign to tank her rep. Baldoni fired back with a $400 million counter suit against her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, but in New York. Federal Judge Tostat in June 2025. Fast forward to April 2nd, and the same judge, Louis Lehman, knocked out 10 of Lively's 13 claims, including harassment, defamation, and conspiracy. The reason? The court saw her as an independent contractor, not an employee, so some claims couldn't stick legally. Lively's team isn't backing down. Stressing this is about retaliation for her pushing set safety. They say the court fight over the smear tactics lives on. And it's already spotlighting nasty online attacks in Hollywood. Three claims survive.

1:00Breach of contract and retaliation under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act against Wayfarer Studios. Judge Lehman found enough evidence there to let them head to trial. Both sides planned to testify when court kicks off May 18, 2026 in New York, with lively seeking over $160 million. Dollars and damages. This narrowed showdown keeps the drama rolling toward that big courtroom drop. This has been Entertainment and Celebrity News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.