Blake Lively WITHDRAWS 'emotional distress' claims against Justin Baldoni in 'It Ends With Us' legal battle

Blake Lively has formally withdrawn two claims against actor and director Justin Baldoni in their ongoing legal battle following their collaboration on the 2024 romantic drama It Ends With Us. The withdrawn claims specifically related to allegations of "emotional distress", in the actress' lawsuit against her director filed in December 2024.


According to Variety, Judge Lewis Liman, who is overseeing the case in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, confirmed that Lively’s claims for emotional distress would be thrown out. The judge noted that the withdrawal was based on “the plaintiff’s representation that the relevant claims will be withdrawn,” and as a result, the director's motion to compel Lively to release her medical and therapy records was denied.

Lively initially filed a lawsuit, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a public smear campaign. In response, Baldoni's team moved to access Lively’s mental health records, arguing that such evidence was essential to counter her claims of 'severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration and mental anguish'.



However, the court noted that without the emotional distress claims, those records were no longer relevant. Judge Liman instructed both parties to decide whether the dismissal of these claims would be permanent (with prejudice) or temporary (without prejudice), and offered the actress the opportunity to choose to try to reach an agreement with Baldoni. If no formal dismissal is made, Lively will be barred from introducing any related evidence.

Lively’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, criticised Baldoni’s legal team for their approach which they claim is 'a press stunt'. In a statement to the media, her lawyers said, “Ms. Lively has offered to dismiss those claims because they are no longer necessary and she will continue to pursue emotional distress damages through other active claims in her lawsuit, including sexual harassment and retaliation.”



Meanwhile, Baldoni is suing both Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for $400 million. He alleges the actress attempted to extort him and later defamed him through statements published in The New York Times. The legal battle now involves six separate lawsuits in various courts.


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