After a judge threw out several of her claims against Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively has issued a lengthy statement about the on-going legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star.
Lively and Baldoni have been embroiled in a legal dispute for well over a year, but their feud began while finishing filming the movie in 2023 and 2024.
The actress filed a legal complaint in December 2024 in which she accused Baldoni, as well as a producer and Wayfarer studios, of creating a hostile work environment and retaliating against her for reporting misconduct.
Meanwhile, Baldoni and Wayfarer sued for £320 million, on claims including civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and more.
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The latest development in the highly publicised case saw 10 of Lively's 13 claims against Baldoni thrown out by a judge, who ruled they 'could not reasonably support a claim', leaving the actress in a difficult spot ahead of the trial, due to take place in May in New York.
"It is clear that the ALA is not and has never been a validly formed and binding contract, as IEWUM (It Ends With Us Movie) unambiguously expressed an intent not to be bound absent a fully executed and signed agreement’. That slices matters too finely,’ Judge Liman said.
"The question whether Lively would have the unilateral right to halt production of the film if in her view sexual harassment occurred is hardly inconsequential. The fact that the parties were not able to come to terms on such provision provides powerful evidence that no contract had yet been formed."
In response to the news, Lively, 38, whose husband Ryan Reynolds was also sued by Baldoni, released a statement via her Instagram Stories.
“I will never stop doing my part in fighting to expose the systems and people who seek to harm, shame, silence and retaliate against victims. I know it's a privilege to be able to stand up. I will not waste it.
“I'm grateful for the Court's ruling which allows the heart of my case to be presented to a jury next month, and for the ability to finally tell my story in full at trial, for my own sake, but also for those who don't have the same opportunity to... many of whom I have known and loved deeply in my life, and the countless I'll never know,” she penned.
“The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I brought this case because of the pervasive RETALIATION I faced, and continue to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others.
"I hope the Court's decision shows others that, as unfathomably painful as it is, you can speak up."
Lively said fans shouldn't 'be distracted by the digital soap opera' and insisted the 'physical pain from digital violence is very real'.
"It is abuse. And it's everywhere… my claims won't be the first or last time you'll see examples of the extreme dangers of retaliation and digital warfare.
“I couldn't begin to stand up if not for the countless who've gone before me - and the masses who are still around us all - creating laws, social change, sparking conversations, rallying, working privately and publicly, risking and sometimes losing everything for the safety of others in all spaces. Some whose names we know, most we don't," she wrote.
The Hollywood star concluded her statement by thanking fans for their 'support' and said it 'keeps me going'.
Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity, US News, Celebrity News
Danni King