Brewtiful Living · News & Culture · Breaking
And somehow, it just got more interesting.
April 3, 2026 · Brewtiful Living · News & Culture
10
Claims Dismissed
3
Claims Going to Trial
May 18
Trial Date
A 152-Page Ruling, One Very Long Year, and a Trial That's Still Happening
Yesterday, a federal judge threw out 10 of Blake Lively's 13 claims against Justin Baldoni. The sexual harassment case — the one that started this whole thing — is gone. And yet somehow, the story is more alive than ever.
If you were expecting this ruling to bring the curtain down on the Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni saga, you clearly haven't been paying attention. Because what Judge Lewis Liman handed down on April 2nd wasn't an ending — it was a plot twist. The harassment claims are gone. The defamation claims are gone. Ten of thirteen counts, dismissed in a 152-page ruling that took an axe to most of what Lively originally filed. But three claims survived. And those three claims are headed straight to a jury trial on May 18th. In New York City. With Blake Lively on the stand.
We have been watching this unfold since both sides went into meltdown mode last year — and the ruling does nothing to close the story. If anything, it sharpens it. Grab your coffee. We're breaking down what got dismissed, what survived, why it matters, and why Justin Baldoni is absolutely not popping champagne yet.
The Scoreboard
✕
Gone
Sexual Harassment
Dismissed because the filming took place in New Jersey, not California — so California's harassment law didn't apply. As an independent contractor, federal law didn't cover her either.
✕
Gone
Defamation
Lively claimed Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman made false allegations about her. Dismissed.
✕
Gone
Conspiracy + 7 More Claims
Seven additional counts dismissed alongside harassment and defamation. Ten total gone.
✓
Trial
Retaliation — Going to Trial
Did Baldoni's team orchestrate a coordinated smear campaign to destroy Lively's reputation after she spoke up? A jury will decide.
✓
Trial
Breach of Contract — Going to Trial
Did Wayfarer Studios violate the terms of Lively's deal? That question goes to the jury.
✓
Trial
Aiding & Abetting Retaliation — Going to Trial
Did others help carry out the smear campaign against Lively? Also going before a jury in May.
Why the Dismissal Isn't the Win It Looks Like
Here is the thing about the sexual harassment dismissal that Baldoni's team is currently framing as a major victory: the judge didn't say it didn't happen. He said California law didn't apply because the filming was in New Jersey, and federal law didn't apply because Lively was a contractor rather than an employee. It's a technicality victory. A jurisdictional win. Not an exoneration.
The judge was very specific about this. He noted that some of the conduct described "at least arguably crossed the line." He just couldn't let the harassment claim proceed under the laws Lively cited. That's a very different thing from a judge saying nothing happened on that set.
Meanwhile, the retaliation claim — which is the part Lively's lawyers have always said was the real heart of this case — survived every challenge. The smear campaign allegation is going to a jury. And if you think coordinated reputation destruction sounds familiar, it's a playbook we've been watching play out in other very public spaces too. The judge concluded that a reasonable jury, viewing the evidence favorably to Lively, could find that Baldoni's team took deliberate steps to destroy her reputation. That language matters. The jury gets it in May.
"This case has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively's reputation because she stood up for safety on the set."
— Sigrid McCawley, Blake Lively's attorney, April 2, 2026
The Part Everyone Is Actually Here For
Yes, The Taylor Swift Texts Are Still In Play
If you were worried the ruling would sweep the celebrity text messages under a judicial rug, fear not. The trial going ahead means so does the evidence — including the now-infamous Taylor Swift messages that surfaced during discovery.
"I think this bitch knows something is coming because he's gotten out his tiny violin."
That was Taylor Swift, in a text to Blake Lively in the fall of 2024, referring to Baldoni. Lively herself responded by calling Baldoni a "clown" and a "doofus director." Swift's lawyers have been actively trying to keep her out of the proceedings. Whether they succeed will be one of the subplots of the May trial. Gigi Hadid and Hugh Jackman have also been named as potential witnesses. This trial is going to be a lot of things, but quiet is not one of them.
How We Got Here — The Timeline
August 2024
It Ends With Us hits theaters. Makes $350 million worldwide. The press tour is famously, visibly awkward. Rumors of a rift between Lively and Baldoni begin circulating immediately.
December 20, 2024
Lively files a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation. The New York Times publishes a related report titled "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine."
December 31, 2024
Lively files her federal lawsuit. William Morris Endeavor drops Baldoni as a client.
January 2025
Baldoni files a $400 million defamation suit against Lively and Ryan Reynolds, claiming they hijacked his film and tried to destroy his career.
June 2025
Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds is dismissed by Judge Liman. His defamation case against the New York Times is also thrown out.
February 2026
Court-ordered mediation between the two sides fails. Both parties are unable to reach a settlement. Trial date confirmed for May.
April 2, 2026
Judge Liman dismisses 10 of 13 claims in Lively's lawsuit, including sexual harassment. Three claims proceed to trial: retaliation, breach of contract and aiding and abetting retaliation.
May 18, 2026
Trial begins in New York City. Blake Lively is expected to testify.
What Happens Next
Between Now and May 18
1
Blake Lively testifies. Her legal team has made clear she is ready and willing to take the stand. Whatever she says in that courtroom will be on the record and reported on extensively.
2
The smear campaign evidence goes public. The retaliation claim centers on the allegation that Baldoni's team hired crisis PR professionals to systematically destroy Lively's reputation. The details of that campaign are going before a jury.
3
Taylor Swift's lawyers keep working. Swift has been trying to limit her involvement in proceedings. Whether she ends up being called is still an open question heading into May.
4
A settlement is still possible. These things have a habit of settling in the days before trial begins. Neither side has shown much interest in compromise so far, but the prospect of a very public trial has a way of focusing minds.
5
Hollywood watches carefully. The smear campaign element of this case — the allegation that a studio hired crisis PR to pre-emptively destroy an actress before she could speak — has implications that go well beyond these two people. The industry is paying attention.
The Verdict on the Verdict
Baldoni's team is presenting yesterday's ruling as a win, and on paper, they have a point. Ten claims dismissed is a significant reduction. The sexual harassment allegations — the ones that started the public conversation and generated the most headlines — are no longer going before a jury. That's not nothing.
But here's what's also true: Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, and that got thrown out entirely. His defamation case against the New York Times got thrown out. And now the case that is actually going to trial is the one that asks a jury to decide whether his team ran a coordinated operation to destroy a woman's career because she complained about how she was treated on set. It is a recurring theme in 2026 — powerful men discovering that burying things doesn't work as well as it used to.
That is not a great set of facts to walk into a courtroom with, regardless of how many claims were dismissed beforehand. The Sony Pictures chair summed it up in an internal email back in August 2024 — "It's all a f---ing disaster." He was talking about the film's press tour. He may as well have been talking about everything that came after it.
The trial starts May 18th. Brewtiful Living will have coffee ready.
— Sara Alba · Brewtiful Living · News & Culture
Blake Lively
Justin Baldoni
It Ends With Us
Hollywood
Taylor Swift
Smear Campaign
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