Blake Lively’s legal team has hit back after a federal judge dismissed her sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni, insisting the ruling was a legal technicality rather than any kind of vindication for the It Ends With Us director.
Attorney Michael Gottlieb said in a statement shared with PEOPLE that Lively’s harassment allegations “have always been the beating heart of Ms. Lively’s case. They are why she filed her lawsuit.”
He was clear that the dismissal did not reflect the merits of those allegations.
“The Court’s ruling that Ms. Lively’s state and federal harassment claims could not go to trial was about legal issues rather than an endorsement of the defendants’ conduct,” he said, explaining that the claims were barred on technical grounds, Lively had not signed a contract, was classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee, and the alleged conduct took place in New Jersey rather than California.
Federal judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed ten of the thirteen claims Lively filed against Baldoni on Thursday, 2 April, including the harassment allegations, ahead of the trial scheduled for 18 May in New York.
What remains, breach of contract and a retaliation claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act against Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Studios, will go before a jury.
Both Lively and Baldoni are expected to testify.
Baldoni’s side wasted no time framing the ruling as a significant win.
His lawyers described themselves as “very pleased” that all harassment claims and every claim against the individual defendants had been dismissed, calling what remained “a significantly narrowed case.”
In a separate statement to TMZ, attorney Bryan Freedman went further.
“Neither Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath nor any of the other defendants have engaged in the sexual harassment of Blake Lively,” he said, adding that his clients had “deserved a vigorous defense which was led through transparency.”
Gottlieb fired back sharply.
“Claiming exoneration based on legal technicalities while facing trial next month tells you everything you need to know,” he said, pointing out that Freedman had not even argued the summary judgment motion he was now publicly spinning, 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 actually decided yesterday is that Blake Lively provided evidence to go to trial on her core claims,” Gottlieb said.
Lively first filed her sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni in December 2024, alleging misconduct on set and a coordinated retaliatory smear campaign, 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 choosing not to refile.
