Justin Baldoni’s legal team is singing victory.
Following a ruling by Judge Lewis J. Liman who dismissed 10 of the 13 claims in Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios—including the claims of sexual harassment—Bryan Freedman, the attorney for the director of It Ends With Us, described the decision as a positive outcome.
In a statement to TMZ on April 3rd, the defendants’ representative said they welcomed the opportunity to prove the facts. Their strategy, he explained, was to repeatedly present evidence demonstrating they hadn’t harassed Blake Lively, and that Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, and all other defendants were innocent of any sexual harassment claims.
TopMob News previously reached out Baldoni’s legal team for comment.
Judge Liman has dismissed Blake Lively’s sexual harassment claims, according to a 152-page ruling obtained by TopMob News. The judge determined that the claims weren’t strong enough to fall under California’s employment and housing laws because much of the movie’s production and key decisions happened outside of California. Additionally, Lively was considered an independent contractor during filming, not an employee, meaning the claims also didn’t qualify under federal civil rights laws.
Despite the dismissal of most of her claims, the jury will still decide whether the company retaliated against her, broke their contract, or helped others retaliate. A trial is set for May, as reported by The New York Times.
Regarding the other accusations, Freedman told TMZ that despite claims their clients used a tactic called DARVO – denying accusations, attacking the accuser, and reversing the roles of victim and offender – and despite being labeled a predator, everything they’ve said from the beginning remains true. Their clients are good people and haven’t engaged in the alleged sexual harassment, and therefore deserve a strong and open defense, which is what they provided.
He finished by saying he was pleased the court’s decision agreed with what his legal team had thought all along.
On April 3rd, lawyers for Wayfarer Studios, Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach, announced they were pleased with the court’s decision to dismiss all sexual harassment claims and those filed against Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel.
Regarding the claims that haven’t been dropped, the company stated they are prepared to argue their case in court.
Even though the claims of sexual harassment were dismissed, Lively’s lawyer explained that this was due to legal procedure, not because the accusations were untrue.
Sigrid McCawley explained to TopMob News on April 2nd that the sexual harassment case wasn’t dismissed due to any wrongdoing by the defendants. Instead, the court ruled that Blake Lively was an independent contractor, and therefore not considered an employee in this situation.
The core of this case is the damaging retaliation and extensive efforts the defendants made to harm Blake Lively’s reputation after she advocated for on-set safety. That’s what we’re taking to trial. For Blake Lively, the most important outcome is that those responsible for the coordinated online attacks have been revealed and are now facing consequences from other women they’ve targeted.
McCawley stated that the Gossip Girl actress is eager to testify about the remaining accusations and hopes her testimony will help expose and combat harmful online harassment, making it easier to identify and prevent in the future.
To learn about the lengthy legal dispute between Lively and Baldoni, and all the key events that happened, keep reading.
Four months after the movie version of Colleen Hoover’s novel It Ends With Us came out, Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) on December 20th, as reported by The New York Times. The complaint names Justin Baldoni and several people connected to his production company, Wayfarer Studios, as responsible parties.
According to documents obtained by TopMob News, the complaint alleges that Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer – including CEO Jamey Heath, cofounder Steve Sarowitz, publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace, and his company Street Relations Inc. – intentionally launched a public relations and online campaign to retaliate against Lively. This retaliation stemmed from her raising concerns about what she described as invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior by Baldoni and Heath on set.
Lively claims this alleged campaign caused significant personal and professional damage. The complaint details accusations of sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to address harassment, aiding and abetting harassment, breach of contract, intentional emotional distress, negligence, invasion of privacy, and interference with her career opportunities.
The following day, The New York Times published a story detailing a campaign allegedly launched by Baldoni and his team to discredit Lively, referencing her complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). The article included messages from Baldoni, his publicist Abel, and crisis communications specialist Nathan, all of which were part of Lively’s complaint. The New York Times also made the court documents available on its website. Lively told the publication, “I hope my lawsuit exposes these harmful tactics used against those who report wrongdoing and protects others who might be targeted.”
Following Blake Lively’s public complaint, Bryan Freedman, the lawyer representing Miles Teller and Wayfarer Studios, strongly refuted her claims. In a statement to The New York Times, Freedman called Lively’s accusations “shameful” and “categorically false,” suggesting they were a deliberate effort to repair damage to her own reputation caused by her previous statements and actions during the film’s promotion. He emphasized that Lively’s interviews and public appearances were unedited and widely available, allowing the public to form their own opinions. Freedman dismissed the claims as false, outrageous, and intended to harm reputations.
He also defended Wayfarer’s decision to hire a crisis manager, explaining it happened before the film’s marketing campaign even began. Freedman added that Wayfarer only responded to media inquiries and monitored social media to ensure accurate reporting. He clarified that any internal discussions about potential scenarios were standard practice for public relations professionals and did not involve proactive attempts to influence the narrative.
Following a New York Times article published on December 21st, talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) ended its relationship with Justin Baldoni, as confirmed by Ari Emanuel, CEO of WME’s parent company, Endeavor.
WME refuted claims that Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively’s husband, was the reason for the split. Baldoni had alleged in a lawsuit against The New York Times that Reynolds had pressured WME to drop him.
WME released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1st, stating, “Baldoni’s filing claims that Reynolds pressured his agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is untrue. Baldoni’s former representative was not at the premiere, and neither Reynolds nor Lively ever pressured WME to drop Baldoni as a client.”
Following Blake Lively’s defamation lawsuit and a report in The New York Times, several well-known figures publicly voiced their support. Colleen Hoover, author of It Ends With Us, shared a message on Instagram thanking Lively for her honesty, kindness, and patience, and encouraging others to read the New York Times article. Jenny Slate, who played a sister to Lively’s character in the film, stated she stood with Lively, praising her as a leader, loyal friend, and source of support. Slate described the revelations about the attack on Lively as “terribly dark” and commended her bravery. Brandon Sklenar, who played a love interest for Lively’s character, shared a link to the complaint published by The New York Times with the message, “For the love of God read this.” Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars, America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn, also released a statement expressing their solidarity with her.
On December 23rd, Liz Plank announced she was leaving The Man Enough Podcast, which she co-hosted with Matthew Baldoni and Jayson Heath. In an Instagram post, Plank expressed gratitude to the listeners for their trust and for creating a special community. While she didn’t state a specific reason for her departure, it followed accusations made against Baldoni and his colleagues by Florence Lively.
Plank emphasized her continued commitment to the values the podcast represented and thanked her followers for their support over the past four years. She stated that everyone deserves better and expressed hope for a positive future. She also indicated she would share more information later and reaffirmed her support for those speaking out against injustice and holding people accountable.
Stephanie Jones, a former publicist for Baldoni, and her firm, Jonesworks LLC, are suing Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, and current publicists Abel and Nathan in New York. The lawsuit claims Abel and Nathan secretly worked together for months to damage Jones and Jonesworks’ reputation, break contracts, and steal clients. According to the suit, they collaborated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to launch a negative media campaign against Baldoni’s co-star, then falsely blamed Jones for the campaign when she was unaware of it.
Abel previously worked at Jonesworks until last summer, according to her LinkedIn profile. The lawsuit further alleges that Abel and Nathan are now trying to deflect blame onto Jones as their own actions come to light, and are continuing to harm her professional reputation.
Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer clients of Jonesworks, are accused of breaking their contractual obligations and refusing to resolve the dispute through private arbitration.
TopMob News has reached out to those named in the suit for a response.
Okay, so I’ve been following this whole thing so closely, and apparently Blake Lively’s lawyers told Variety they got those texts published in The New York Times by legally demanding them from Jonesworks. And get this – the lawyer for Nathan and Abel (plus Baldoni and everyone connected to Wayfarer) said none of his clients were asked for information! He’s furious with Jones and plans to sue him for giving Lively’s team access to messages from Abel’s phone. It’s a mess, but I’m glued to every update!
On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, and Street Relations filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times. The suit claims the newspaper published false and damaging information about them in an article concerning their interactions with Lively.
The plaintiffs allege the Times committed libel, invaded their privacy, engaged in promissory fraud, and breached a contract. This stems from the article’s reporting on accusations that they ran a smear campaign against Lively after she raised concerns about alleged misconduct. They claim the article was based on false information from Lively’s complaint and that messages were taken out of context.
The lawsuit argues the Times relied heavily on Lively’s account without properly considering evidence that contradicted her claims and revealed her true motivations. The plaintiffs state Lively, not them, was the one who engaged in a calculated smear campaign. Lively disputes this.
The New York Times stated they intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit, asserting their role as a news organization is to report the facts accurately. They maintain the story was carefully reported and based on a thorough review of thousands of documents, including text messages and emails quoted in the article.
That day, Lively filed a lawsuit in New York against Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Entertainment, Heath, Sarowitz, the production company It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, Nathan’s company TAG, and Abel.
The suit alleges sexual harassment, retaliation, and a failure to address the harassment. It also includes claims of aiding and abetting, breach of contract, intentional and negligent emotional distress, and invasion of privacy.
These allegations were initially outlined in a complaint Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) earlier in the month.
Regarding Baldoni’s lawsuit against The New York Times (which did not name Lively as a defendant), Lively’s attorneys stated that her claims remain unchanged. They argued that Baldoni’s lawsuit falsely suggests Lively’s CRD complaint was a tactic to avoid suing him directly, and that she never intended to pursue legal action. Her attorneys clarified that her newly filed federal complaint proves this claim is inaccurate.
The lawsuit filed by Baldoni and his team against The New York Times isn’t their only legal action planned. Court documents reveal they believe others were also involved and that further lawsuits are coming. In an interview with NBC News on January 2nd, Baldoni and Wayfarer’s lawyer, Freedman, confirmed they intend to sue Lively as well.
The controversy surrounding Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni continued to unfold online. Some social media users suggested that Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, subtly referenced the situation in his upcoming film, Deadpool & Wolverine, through the character Nicepool. While Reynolds hasn’t addressed these claims publicly, Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman, did speak out. In an interview on YouTube’s The Megyn Kelly Show on January 7th, Freedman stated, “If your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of the person involved. You take it seriously, file complaints through the proper channels, and follow legal procedures. You certainly don’t mock the situation and turn it into a joke.”
Lively’s legal team says she’s faced increased criticism since filing her lawsuit. They emphasized the case isn’t a simple disagreement, but involves serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation with solid evidence. They accuse Wayfarer and its allies of launching a smear campaign against Lively after she tried to ensure a safe work environment on a film set, and claim the company responded to the lawsuit with further attacks.
The lawyers stressed that sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal, and warned against common tactics used to discredit victims – such as blaming them, questioning their motives, or portraying them as the aggressor. They stated that these methods downplay serious misconduct and won’t hold up in court, and that they intend to prove their case through legal proceedings, not public statements.
In a statement to TopMob, Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman, pointed out the irony of Blake Lively accusing Baldoni of using the media to his advantage, considering her own team sent heavily edited documents to The New York Times before even filing the complaint.
Freedman also stated they are releasing evidence showing a pattern of bullying and threats related to the movie, claiming Lively has a history of using others to deliver threats and get her way. He asserted they have proof to support these claims.
On January 16th, Heath Baldoni, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan, and It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloane’s firm, Vision PR, in New York.
The lawsuit, obtained by TopMob News, accuses all defendants of civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy. Lively is specifically accused of breaching an implied agreement to act in good faith, while both she and Reynolds are accused of intentionally disrupting contracts and unfairly hindering economic opportunities, as well as negligently interfering with potential business deals.
The plaintiffs deny Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory campaign against her. They allege that Lively took control of the It Ends With Us movie promotion and, with the help of Reynolds, Sloane, and others, attempted to damage their reputations in the media following criticism of her marketing efforts. (Lively maintains she followed Sony’s marketing plan.)
The lawsuit claims the defendants collaborated with The New York Times to publish a damaging and inaccurate news report. The newspaper has defended its reporting.
In a statement, Freedman asserted that Blake Lively was either misinformed by her team or deliberately misrepresented the truth.
Lively’s lawyers have responded to a lawsuit filed against her, calling it a typical tactic used by abusers. They claim Baldoni is attempting to portray Lively as the problem, alleging she took over the creative direction of the project and caused friction with the cast.
The legal team argues that the evidence will demonstrate that others also had negative experiences with Baldoni and the production company, and that Sony specifically asked Lively to oversee the final cut of the film, which ultimately proved successful.
They strongly condemned Baldoni’s reaction to her harassment claims, stating his team is attempting to blame Lively for the alleged abuse and focusing on her actions instead of addressing the harassment itself. They believe this strategy is a desperate attempt to discredit her claims and will ultimately fail.
Lawyers for actor Justin Baldoni have released footage from the filming of It Ends With Us, arguing it disproves claims made by his co-star, Blake Lively. They state the scene was meant to portray a developing romance and that both actors behaved professionally and respectfully throughout.
Lively’s legal team, however, contends the video actually supports her allegations, showing Baldoni’s actions were unscripted and done without her consent. They claim the footage demonstrates Lively repeatedly trying to distance herself and requesting a more verbal exchange between the characters. Her lawyers believe anyone who has experienced inappropriate workplace conduct will recognize the discomfort she displays in the video.
The couple asked the judge handling their case to prevent Freedman, the lead lawyer for the opposing side, from making public statements, hoping to ensure a fair legal process.
A seven-minute voice memo reportedly sent by director Baldoni to actress Lively during the making of It Ends With Us was leaked online. The recording seems to discuss a rooftop scene Lively had revised for the film and how those changes were brought to him in a meeting with Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and singer Taylor Swift. Baldoni told Lively, “We should all have friends like that, especially considering how incredibly creative you both are. The three of you together are amazing.” In the memo, Baldoni also appears to apologize for not initially being enthusiastic about Lively’s revised script, admitting, “I messed up. I’ll always own up to and apologize for my mistakes.”
According to documents obtained by TopMob News, Stephen Baldoni has updated his lawsuit against Camille Lively, her team, and her PR firm, Vision PR, to now include The New York Times. Baldoni claims Lively and her colleagues spent months working together to give false information to the newspaper. The updated lawsuit alleges that The New York Times selectively used and changed communications, removing important context and intentionally editing them to be misleading.
Baldoni published a website detailing his lawsuit against Lively, including the official complaint and a chronological overview of key events. This overview featured what Baldoni claimed were screenshots of text conversations between Lively, Reynolds, and himself.
This website appeared just one month after Baldoni’s legal team announced plans to publicly release all text messages between the parties involved.
In an interview with NBC News on January 2nd, Baldoni’s attorney stated they wanted to make all evidence available so the public could draw their own conclusions.
Lively’s lawyers have updated her lawsuit, stating that two other women who worked on the film It Ends With Us also felt uneasy about Justin Baldoni’s behavior during filming.
The updated complaint, which TopMob News has seen, asserts that Lively wasn’t the only one to raise concerns about Baldoni. It claims these concerns, along with those of Lively, were recorded as they happened starting in May 2023, and that Baldoni acknowledged them in writing at the time. He was aware other women were also uncomfortable with his actions and had voiced their complaints.
The lawsuit doesn’t reveal the names of these two witnesses, citing a threatening environment created by the defendants’ attempts to discredit Lively.
Baldoni’s lawyer, however, dismissed the claims as unreliable hearsay and suggested the women are no longer willing to support Lively’s allegations publicly.
Following accusations from Baldoni that Sloane spread false and damaging rumors painting him as a “sexual predator,” and that these were part of a coordinated effort led by Lively, Sloane asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
According to legal documents reviewed by TopMob News, Sloane’s lawyer claims the accusations against her are unfounded and that she was brought into the lawsuit only to divert attention from the claims made by Lively.
Lively has hired Nick Shapiro, a former Deputy Chief of Staff for the CIA, to help with the legal strategy for the sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit currently happening in New York. This information was shared with Variety on February 28th by a member of Lively’s legal team, Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
From 2013 to 2015, Shapiro worked at the CIA during the Obama administration. He later held leadership positions at Visa and Airbnb, overseeing global security, communications, and crisis management. After three years at Airbnb, he started his own consulting company, 10th Avenue Consulting LLC.
According to documents obtained by TopMob News, The New York Times has asked a court to dismiss them from the $400 million lawsuit, which also involves Lively, Baldoni, and the company Sloane and Sloane.
In a court filing, the newspaper claimed that Baldoni’s team was presenting a biased story that had attracted significant media attention, but insisted that The Times should not be involved in the conflict. Lawyers for The New York Times also pointed out that Baldoni and his colleagues at Wayfarer initially sued the paper for $250 million, but that case was dropped when they expanded the lawsuit to $400 million and included The New York Times as a defendant, according to documents obtained by Deadline.
U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman has temporarily paused the exchange of information and documents in a case involving The New York Times, following the newspaper’s request. Court documents obtained by TopMob News show the judge granted the pause while considering the newspaper’s motion to dismiss the case.
Judge Liman stated that The New York Times presented a strong argument that its motion to dismiss should be accepted. He also believes that delaying the exchange of information won’t unfairly harm the opposing side, led by Mr. Baldoni.
A spokesperson for The New York Times said the court’s decision is a positive step, recognizing the important First Amendment rights involved and preventing unnecessary burdens on the newspaper from a lawsuit that shouldn’t have been filed.
Following accusations from Baldoni that Lively was using her friendship with Taylor Swift to gain more say in the film It Ends With Us, and after Baldoni’s lawyers attempted to subpoena Swift, a spokesperson for the singer responded.
A spokesperson confirmed to TopMob News on May 9th that Taylor Swift had no involvement with the movie. They stated she wasn’t part of the casting process, didn’t contribute to the music, and never reviewed any version of the film.
Taylor Swift allowed the film to use her song ‘My Tears Ricochet,’ her representative explained. Since her contribution was simply licensing a song – something 19 other artists also did – this legal request appears to be an attempt to generate publicity and sensationalize the case by using Taylor Swift’s name, rather than focusing on the actual facts.
Baldoni’s attorneys withdrew their request later that month, per Lively’s legal team.
The judge dismissed the lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, their publicist Sloane, Sloane’s company Vision PR, and The New York Times. The judge ruled that Baldoni and his lawyers didn’t provide enough evidence to support claims of defamation or attempted illegal coercion.
After the lawsuit against her was dropped, Lively spoke on Instagram about how upsetting retaliatory lawsuits can be, and the feeling of being unfairly shamed they cause. She also pointed out that many people don’t have the money or support to defend themselves when this happens.
She expressed her love and thanks to everyone who supported her, both those she knew and those she didn’t. She promised to continue to be grateful for and fight for them all.
Baldoni’s lawyer told TopMob News that Lively’s claim of winning is untrue.
As a lifestyle expert, I’ve seen firsthand how damaging false accusations can be. In this particular case, we’re dealing with claims of sexual harassment and subsequent retaliation, but what’s really striking is the lack of any actual evidence. The other side has described any attempt to find proof of these accusations as ‘untraceable,’ and frankly, that’s because there is no proof – these things simply didn’t happen. It’s a clear case of someone trying to damage a reputation with nothing to back it up.
Blake Lively gave a deposition at her lawyers’ office in New York. Despite reports describing it as a tense confrontation with Jason Baldoni, her legal team quickly disputed claims that she required a large group of supporting witnesses.
According to Lively’s lawyer, Baldoni was present in the room with the other people she was suing, and their lawyers, too.
According to a court document obtained by TopMob News, Isabela Ferrer – who portrayed a younger Lily in the movie It Ends With Us – claims that Justin Baldoni and people working with him attempted to intimidate, control, and improperly influence her after she received a legal subpoena related to the ongoing lawsuit.
According to her lawyers, the actress asked Wayfarer Studios to pay her legal bills as outlined in her contract. However, the company responded by requesting she give them control over how she responded to a subpoena from Lively before they would cover her costs.
According to court documents, Ms. Ferrer previously addressed inappropriate behavior from Baldoni related to the Lively Subpoena. The filing accuses Baldoni of attempting to intimidate Ferrer by filing a motion against her.
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2026-04-03 18:54