Blake Lively has publicly responded after a court dismissed the bulk of her claims in the lawsuit tied to her work on the film It Ends With Us, saying she is grateful to be able to “finally tell [her] story in full” when the remaining allegations go before a jury next month. In an Instagram story posted April 3, the actor framed the narrow survival of the case as a chance to seek accountability for what she described as ongoing retaliation.
A judge dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims ahead of trial, including the sexual‑harassment allegations against co‑star Justin Baldoni, leaving breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting retaliation to be tried beginning May 18. Lively said the court’s ruling “allows the heart of my case to be presented to a jury next month,” adding that she brought the suit not because she wanted litigation but because of “the pervasive RETALIATION I faced, and continued to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others.”
Lively’s attorney, Mike Gottlieb, said the court’s decision to toss the harassment claims turned on legal technicalities rather than a vindication of the defendants’ behavior. Gottlieb told reporters the claims were dismissed because Lively had not signed a contract, because the court determined she was an independent contractor rather than an employee, and because the allegedly offensive conduct occurred in New Jersey rather than California — issues that, in his view, barred those particular claims from reaching a jury.
In her statement, Lively emphasized the personal and broader stakes of the case. “I am grateful for the Court’s ruling which allows the heart of my case to be presented to a jury next month, and for the ability to finally tell my story in full at trial, for my own sake, but also for those who don’t have the same opportunity to… many of whom I have known and loved deeply in my life, and the countless I’ll never know,” she wrote. “I know it’s a privilege to be able to stand up. I will not waste it.”
The surviving claims — breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting retaliation — will shape the May trial, during which Lively has said she intends to recount the events and consequences that prompted the complaint. The dismissal of the harassment counts narrows the legal issues jurors will consider, but does not eliminate Lively’s broader allegations of wrongdoing on set and subsequent adverse actions she says followed her complaints.
Neither Baldoni nor his legal team issued a public response in the immediate aftermath of the rulings, and court filings referenced by Lively’s counsel indicate the parties remain on course for the upcoming trial date. The case has drawn intense public attention because of the prominence of the actors and the film, and observers will be watching how the narrower set of claims plays out before a jury in mid‑May.