The legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is still in development. The most recent legal filing finds Lively and her team of lawyers pushing back against Baldoni, claiming that he is trying to "avoid accountability" for the "hostile environment" that he enabled on the set of "It Ends With Us."
© GettyLively's filing is a reply to Baldoni's most recent legal filing, which requested a summary judgment, a motion that would push to resolve the lawsuit without giving Lively her day in court.
“In their latest effort to avoid accountability for the hostile environment they created during the production and marketing of It Ends With Us, Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, and their co-defendants ask this Court to shield them from trial, and deny Blake Lively her day in court, by throwing the kitchen sink at Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims,” reads Lively's filing, as reported by Deadline.
© Getty Images“Defendants’ campaign to transform Lively—a mother of four with decades of experience in the industry who simply sought a safe and respectful workplace—into a 'bully' who 'took over' Baldoni’s Film is not a defense to harassment, retaliation, defamation, or any claim Lively has advanced,” continues the document.
The filing argued that while Lively is a "movie star," she was under the employment of Baldoni and his collaborators, who served as her director, producers, and more. “They set her schedule and her salary, appeared on and managed the set every day, were responsible for receiving and addressing HR concerns, and had the power to exert influence over Lively’s working conditions. Id. Heath and Baldoni also leveraged their close friendship to ‘act with a certain degree of impunity’ and cover the other’s misdeeds," states the motion.
© GC ImagesWhen is the trial scheduled to take place?
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's trial has been an incredible disturbance to both of their lives, becoming the focus of their careers ever since December 2024, when Lively filmed her initial complaint. Since the pair has engaged in a legal back-and-forth that's been difficult to keep track of.
The trial is expected to start on March 9th, with Lively seeking around $500 million in damages. Both parties are expected to testify, with celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Swift, and Hugh Jackman possibly making appearances as witnesses.
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