New Developments in Baldoni and Lively’s Legal Dispute
The ongoing legal battle between co-stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively saw new developments on Friday. Baldoni has requested a judge to block testimony from co-star Jenny Slate and author Colleen Huber in light of the allegations stemming from their film project.
Baldoni and Lively appeared together in the 2024 film “It Ends With Us,” which Baldoni directed. However, the production has found itself entangled in a lawsuit after Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment during filming. She alleges that Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, retaliated against her after she reported the alleged misconduct. Both Baldoni and Wayfarer have categorically denied these claims.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Louis J. Lehman dismissed ten of Lively’s thirteen claims against Baldoni, which included serious allegations such as sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy. Despite this, a trial is set for May in New York, focusing on Lively’s remaining claims of breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation.
Baldoni’s legal team submitted a motion on Friday seeking to suppress evidence pertaining to “alleged negative experiences with other women,” suggesting that such testimony may not be relevant to the current case. NBC News reached out to both Baldoni and Lively, as well as Wayfarer, for their perspectives on this latest filing.
In the filing, Baldoni described the evidence involving accounts from seven other women as “a bag full of awkward comments, petty confrontations, and perceived disrespect.” Notably, one claim involved Jenny Slate, who stated that Baldoni made comments regarding her appearance in “It Ends With Us,” calling her wardrobe “unprofessional” and making uncomfortable jokes.
Slate reported her concerns to producer Alex Sachs, resulting in an immediate apology from Baldoni. The filing claims that no further issues arose following this incident and that Slate believed her concerns had been resolved appropriately on set.
The filing also aims to exclude testimony from Colleen Huber, claiming that the author of “It Ends With Us” did not play a role in Lively’s work environment, had no contractual obligations related to the film, and was absent during filming. Other women included in the filings are Sax, co-star Isabella Ferrer, screenwriter Christy Hall, Liz Plank (co-host of Baldoni and Jamie Heath’s podcast), and director Claire Ayoub, who has worked with Baldoni in the past.
Baldoni’s lawyers argue that the experiences recounted by these women are not only tangential to the issues at hand but also unique to their own situations, vastly differing from Lively’s allegations regarding sexual comments and encounters. They claim that the evidentiary value of this testimony is minimal, stating that Lively had no knowledge of any “other incidents of bad behavior” beyond those relating to Slate.
