The spectacular implosion of the It Ends With Us press tour just hit a massive legal wall. The decision establishes a controversial new threshold for what constitutes a hostile work environment on a Hollywood set. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman threw out Blake Lively’s core sexual harassment claims against her co-star and director Justin Baldoni on Thursday.
Liman ruled that Lively was operating as an independent contractor rather than an employee. This renders her completely ineligible to bring claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to a detailed report on the dismissal. The judge pointed to major jurisdictional issues. Lively sued under California law. The alleged conduct largely took place elsewhere.
The 152-page ruling addressed the specific on-set allegations directly. Lively accused Baldoni of unscripted touching and making inappropriate remarks during intimate scenes. The judge noted Baldoni was simply “acting in the scene.” He wrote that “creative artists… must have some amount of space to experiment within the bounds of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment.”
This legal war started brewing publicly during the summer 2024 press tour. Lively filed a formal complaint in December 2024. She accused Baldoni of crossing boundaries and hiring crisis PR firms to launch a smear campaign against her. The litigation spiraled rapidly. Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation countersuit against Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Judge Liman dismissed that in June 2025. The discovery process even dragged in massive pop stars. Court documents unsealed private text messages between Lively and Taylor Swift discussing the director. Swift was subpoenaed. Her team condemned the move as a grab for tabloid clickbait.
The fight is not entirely over. The judge tossed the 10 core harassment claims. He left two retaliation claims and a breach of contract claim intact. These target Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios. The case goes to trial on May 18, 2026.
Baldoni’s legal team is celebrating the victory. They stated they are “very pleased” to face a “significantly narrowed case.” Lively’s attorney Sigrid McCawley fired back immediately. She stated the actress “looks forward to testifying” to expose a “vicious form of online retaliation” meant to destroy her career.
How the Independent Contractor Ruling Alters Hollywood Intimacy Standards
Judge Liman’s dismissal does more than just deflate the most explosive allegations of the It Ends With Us fallout. It creates a massive legal shield for directors and studios filming intimate scenes. By officially classifying leading actors as independent contractors excluded from Title VII protections, the court established a devastatingly high hurdle for talent trying to prove a hostile work environment.
The explicit protection of an actor’s “space to experiment” during a scene sets a new industry precedent. A factory floor or a corporate office has rigid definitions of harassment. A film set now legally operates in a gray area where unscripted physical contact can be defended as a creative choice. This severely limits the legal recourse available to actors navigating unchoreographed intimacy. It forces them to rely on breach of contract claims rather than federal civil rights protections.