By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - A lawyer for actor Justin Baldoni urged a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss actor Blake Lively's lawsuit stemming from their 2024 movie "It Ends with Us,” saying her sexual harassment and retaliation case was built on “petty slights.”
Lawyers for Lively rejected that characterization, accusing Baldoni and other defendants of taking liberties during the film's production to promote a sexually charged atmosphere that marginalized women, and then lashing
out publicly when she complained.
Lively, 38, accused Baldoni, who directed and co-starred in "It Ends with Us," and his Wayfarer Studios of coordinating a scheme to silence her and others from speaking out about the hostile environment they allegedly created on the film's set.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan heard three hours of arguments on whether the case should continue.
These followed an acrimonious, 13-month battle that transfixed Hollywood and involved celebrities including Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds and longtime friend Taylor Swift.
Liman did not say when he would rule. Lively is seeking unspecified damages for alleged harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy and violations of federal and state civil rights laws. A trial is scheduled for May 18.
BALDONI'S LAWYER CALLS ALLEGATIONS 'SMALL POTATOES'
Thursday's hearing followed this week's release of thousands of pages of documents, including Lively's claim that Baldoni pressured her unnecessarily to simulate nudity during a film scene in which her character gave birth in a hospital.
Also released were messages between Lively and Swift, including a December 5, 2024, text where the superstar singer likened Lively and Baldoni's relationship to "a horror film no one knows is taking place."
Jonathan Bach, a lawyer for Baldoni, told the judge that "context matters," and that in the context of a film with adult situations, including a pregnancy where people on set aimed for "a certain aesthetic," the "trivial things and petty slights" that Lively alleged didn't support letting her case continue.
"It's not enough to show that sex or sexuality found its way into the workplace," Bach said. "Their burden is to show that it not only entered the workplace, but was used to discriminate against women."
Bach also characterized Lively's case as being littered with "small potatoes," prompting the judge to say: "A whole bunch of little things can add up to a big thing."
LAWYER FOR LIVELY SAYS BALDONI CROSSED BOUNDARIES
Esra Hudson, a lawyer for Lively, countered that Baldoni's behavior was "consistently inappropriate and crossing boundaries," including by deviating from the script and adding unnecessary sexual content.
Hudson said this included the birth scene, as well as a dance sequence in which Baldoni allegedly "nuzzled" Lively without consent.
"You can see the look on her face," Hudson said. "She is clearly having her boundaries crossed in that moment ... She did not think this should be a hot and sexy movie at all."
Liman questioned whether some individual defendants, including Baldoni and Wayfarer Chief Executive Jamey Heath, should be held responsible for others' conduct, and how closely Baldoni was required to adhere to the script.
"Your proposition would seem to have every director's decision decided by a jury, and that can't be right," Liman told Hudson.
In seeking a dismissal, lawyers for Baldoni said he resolved Lively's concerns, including over her physical appearance, as soon as she raised them, and that he had a right to hire a crisis management firm after Lively began disparaging him publicly.
BALDONI LAWSUITS AGAINST LIVELY, NEW YORK TIMES PREVIOUSLY DISMISSED
The dispute burst into public view in mid-December 2024, when Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department, followed by her lawsuit, and a New York Times article titled: "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine."
Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and Reynolds of trying to destroy his reputation, but Liman dismissed that case in June. The judge also dismissed Baldoni's related $250 million defamation case against the Times.
"It Ends with Us" generated mixed reviews but grossed more than $351 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, writing by Tom Hals; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Bill Berkrot and Lisa Shumaker)
