Blake Lively’s legal team has fought back after a federal judge dismissed her sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni, insisting the decision was a legal formality rather than any vindication of the case. It ends with us director.
Attorney Michael Gottlieb said in a statement shared with PEOPLE that Lively’s harassment allegations “have always been at the heart of Ms. Lively’s case. That’s why she filed the lawsuit.”
He made it clear that the dismissal did not reflect the merits of these allegations.
“The Court’s decision that Ms. Lively’s allegations of state and federal harassment could not be tried involved legal issues rather than an endorsement of the defendants’ conduct,” he said, explaining that the claims were dismissed on technical grounds, that Lively did not sign a contract, was classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee, and that the alleged conduct took place in New Jersey rather than California.
Federal Judge Lewis J. Liman on Thursday, April 2, dismissed ten of Lively’s thirteen complaints against Baldoni, including harassment allegations, ahead of a trial scheduled for May 18 in New York.
What remains, a breach of contract and retaliation claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act against Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Studios, will go to a jury.
Lively and Baldoni are expected to testify.
Baldoni’s team wasted no time in presenting the move as a significant victory.
His lawyers described themselves as “very pleased” that all harassment claims and all claims against individual defendants were dismissed, calling what remained “a significantly reduced case.”
In a separate statement to TMZattorney Bryan Freedman went further.
“Neither Justin Baldoni, nor Jamey Heath, nor any of the other defendants engaged in the sexual harassment of Blake Lively,” he said, adding that his clients “deserve a vigorous, transparent defense.”
Gottlieb responded sharply.
“Asking for an exoneration based on legal technicalities when you’re going to trial next month tells you everything you need to know,” he said, pointing out that Freedman had not even argued the motion for summary judgment he was now making publicly, had brought in another firm for the trial and had been reprimanded by the court the previous week for filing legally frivolous claims.
“What the Court decided yesterday was that Blake Lively provided evidence to go to trial on her core allegations,” Gottlieb said.
Lively first filed her sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni in December 2024, alleging on-set misconduct and a coordinated smear campaign in retaliation, which Baldoni has denied.
Baldoni’s own counterclaims against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, alleging extortion and defamation, were dismissed by the same judge in June 2025, with his legal team opting not to file a new case.
