Justin Baldoni’s lawyers have filed a motion for summary judgment aiming to dismiss Blake Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit ahead of a federal trial scheduled for next March.
In their motion, submitted Wednesday night, Baldoni’s legal team argued that Lively’s claims amount to little more than a “litany of minor grievances” that should not serve as the basis for a harassment suit.
Lively filed the lawsuit against her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director, as well as producers and publicists involved in the film’s production. She alleges that she faced retaliation after raising complaints about on-set conduct. Specifically, Lively claims she was targeted by a social media “smear campaign,” where Instagram commenters labeled her a “bully” and a “mean girl.”
Baldoni’s attorneys contended that such social media activity does not constitute an “adverse employment action,” a necessary element to establish retaliation. They also maintained that any steps taken by Baldoni and his associates were purely defensive, intended to protect their own reputations from Lively’s accusations.
“Baldoni sought the advice of a crisis-management public relations firm, as any responsible person in his position would do,” the lawyers wrote. “He did so for the benefit of both his professional reputation and the newly released film. He relied on media professionals to boost his image and assure that any coverage would be balanced and accurate. None of that is against the law.”
Meanwhile, Lively’s legal team has pointed to text messages exchanged among Baldoni’s publicists, which show they were closely monitoring the social media fallout from the dispute and actively tried to “boost” posts favorable to Baldoni while critical of Lively.
In a related development, Baldoni and his allies previously sued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation. That case was dismissed on the grounds that Baldoni cannot bring a suit against someone simply for filing a lawsuit against him.
The recent summary judgment motion references evidence gathered during discovery; however, much of this material remains under seal, marked “confidential.”
Separately, social media consultant Jed Wallace filed a lawsuit against Lively in federal court in Texas, claiming she harmed his reputation by accusing him of involvement in Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign. That complaint was dismissed on Wednesday by a federal judge in Austin, who ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction over Lively, who resides in New York.
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/justin-baldoni-blake-lively-minor-grievances-trial-1236581197/