NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Blake Lively\u2019s sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni over the movie \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d were dismissed Thursday by a federal judge who left intact three claims, including retaliation, that will let a jury hear many of the allegations anyway. <\/p>\n
The written ruling by Judge Lewis J. Liman in Manhattan came after Lively, who starred in and produced the film, sued her co-star and director in December 2024. A trial is scheduled for May 18.<\/p>\n
Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios had countersued Lively and her husband, \u201cDeadpool\u201d actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. The judge dismissed Baldoni\u2019s claims last June.<\/p>\n
In his ruling, Liman determined that Lively was an independent contractor rather than an employee. On that basis, he said she was not entitled to bring sexual harassment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law prohibits employment discrimination on various grounds, including gender.<\/p>\n
As to retaliation, the judge said some evidence might enable a jury to conclude that Baldoni’s production company planned not only to damage Lively’s reputation but to destroy her career amid fear she’d file a discrimination claim. Lively alleges a smear campaign has been \u201cdevastating for her reputation and career,\u201d the judge noted.<\/p>\n
In an analysis of the sexual harassment claims, the judge said Lively’s claims had to be viewed in the context of the movie they were working on.<\/p>\n
\u201cLively claims that during filming, Baldoni leaned in and gestured as if he was intending to kiss her, and that he kissed her forehead, rubbed his face and mouth against her neck, put his thumb to her mouth and flicked her lower lip, caressed her, and leaned into her neck, saying \u2018it smells good,\u2019\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n
He said there was no question that the conduct would support a hostile work environment claim if it happened on a factory floor or in an executive suite.<\/p>\n
However, the judge noted, Baldoni was \u201cacting in the scene\u201d and his “conduct was not so far beyond what might reasonably be expected to take place between two characters during a slow dancing scene such that an inference of hostile treatment on the basis of sex would arise. At least in isolation, the conduct was directed to Lively\u2019s character rather than to Lively herself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liman added: \u201cCreative artists, no less than comedy room writers, must have some amount of space to experiment within the bounds of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite those findings, the judge said some sexual harassment claims may be put to a jury to support two retaliation claims that survived the ruling, including one against It Ends With Us Movie LLC and Wayfarer Studios, and a third claim that was left intact alleging breach of a contract rider agreement against It Ends With Us Movie LLC.<\/p>\n
The judge noted that Baldoni once said \u201cpretty hot\u201d after asking Lively to remove her jacket, exposing a lace bra underneath, and that when he was warned that it was inappropriate and distracting to make such comment, he allegedly rolled his eyes and responded: \u201cSorry, I missed the sexual harassment training.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liman also cited a scene in which Baldoni pushed for Lively to perform a birth scene naked and then the scene was filmed over several hours without the set being closed to nonessential personnel.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Lively attorney Sigrid McCawley wrote that Lively \u201clooks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation so that it become easier to detect and fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cThis case has always been and will remain focused on the devasting retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively\u2019s reputation because she stood up for safety on the set and that is the case that is going to trial.\u201d<\/p>\n
A lawyer for Baldoni and his production company did not immediately comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt Ends With Us,\u201d an adaptation of Colleen Hoover\u2019s bestselling 2016 novel that begins as a romance but takes a dark turn into domestic violence, was released in August 2024, exceeding box office expectations with a $50 million debut. But the movie\u2019s release was shrouded by speculation over discord between Lively and Baldoni.<\/p>\n
Lively appeared in the 2005 film \u201cThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants\u201d and the TV series \u201cGossip Girl\u201d from 2007 to 2012 before starring in films including \u201cThe Town\u201d and \u201cThe Shallows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baldoni starred in the TV comedy \u201cJane the Virgin,\u201d directed the 2019 film \u201cFive Feet Apart\u201d and wrote \u201cMan Enough,\u201d a book challenging traditional notions of masculinity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Blake Lively\u2019s sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni over the movie \u201cIt Ends With…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[49443,174498,157795,2724,88,2932,3044],"class_list":{"0":"post-561772","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-metoo","9":"tag-ap-entertainment","10":"tag-ap-u-s-news","11":"tag-associated-press","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-lawsuit","14":"tag-sexual-harassment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}