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Federal judge throws out most of Blake Lively’s claims against Justin Baldoni

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 345 words · By Owen Myers
Media Coverage Legal Disputes Celebrity Conflicts
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What to know about Media Coverage

A federal judge has thrown out the majority of Blake Lively’s claims against Justin Baldoni.

Claims checked 13
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left25%
Center50%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A federal judge has thrown out the majority of Blake Lively’s claims against Justin Baldoni.

Why it matters

In a court ruling on Thursday, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 claims in Lively’s lawsuit against her co-star and director of the domestic violence film It Ends With Us.

Common ground

Among the 10 claims that Liman threw out were Lively’s claims of sexual harassment, conspiracy and defamation.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/apr/02/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-sexual-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Name Calling / Labeling 80% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

help Insufficient Evidence 4
check_circle Corroborated 4
schedule Pending 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
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Claim 1: “Lively’s lawyers had claimed that Baldoni was ‘consistently inappropriate’ with their client, and ‘kissed, nuzzled and touched’ her without her consent.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support this claim.
schedule
Claim 2: “In unsealed text messages to Swift, Lively called Baldoni the ‘doofus director of my movie’ and asked the singer for thoughts on a rewrite of the It Ends With Us screenplay. Swift allegedly replied: ‘I’ll do anything for you!’”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 3: “In a court ruling on Thursday, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 claims in Lively’s lawsuit against her co-star and director of the domestic violence film It Ends With Us.”
CORROBORATED
Cross-referenced reports from The Guardian, web search results, and Wikipedia confirm Judge Liman dismissed 10 of 13 claims.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The production of the 2024 American film It Ends with Us, starring American actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, has been the subject of controversy due to highly publicized disputes and litigation…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ends_with_Us_controversy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lewis Jeffrey Liman (born in 1960) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_J._Liman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a comprehensive list of all Article III and Article IV United States federal judges appointed by President Donald Trump, as well as a partial list of Article I federal judicial appointments, e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_judges_appoint…
+ 4 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 4: “⊊The case has lifted the lid on Lively’s private messages to other A-listers such as Taylor Swift and Ben Affleck.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 5: “Three of the actor’s claims will now be heard at trial: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation.”
CORROBORATED
Cross-references and web search results confirm the remaining claims are breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation.
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web search NEUTRAL — Threeclaimssurvived:breachofaContractRider Agreement,retaliationunder FEHA,andaidingandabettingretaliation.
https://www.dickinson-wright.com/news-alerts/blog-hr-jodka-b…
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web search NEUTRAL — He left in place threeclaimsagainst Baldoni -breachofcontract,retaliation,andaidingandabettinginretaliation- which will now go to a ...
https://www.graphic.com.gh/entertainment/showbiz-news/judge-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Theclaimsthatremain,breachofcontract,retaliation,andaidingandabettingretaliation,aremore substantialandwill move forward.
https://hdflashnews.com/2026/04/03/why-attorney-says-justin-…
+ 1 more evidence source
verified
Claim 6: “It Ends With Us was a global hit and grossed more than $350m, but was soon overshadowed by rumors of conflict between Lively and Baldoni and messy, drawn out litigation.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries do not mention the $350m gross or litigation overshadowing the film's success.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — It Ends with Us is a romance novel by Colleen Hoover, published by Atria Books on August 2, 2016. The story follows florist Lily Bloom, whose abusive relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid is com…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ends_with_Us
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The production of the 2024 American film It Ends with Us, starring American actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, has been the subject of controversy due to highly publicized disputes and litigation…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ends_with_Us_controversy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — It Ends with Us is a 2024 American romantic drama film directed by Justin Baldoni and written by Christy Hall, based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover. The film stars Blake Lively alongside Baldoni,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ends_with_Us_(film)
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Claim 7: “Among the 10 claims that Liman threw out were Lively’s claims of sexual harassment, conspiracy and defamation.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (NBC Washington, web search results) explicitly list sexual harassment, conspiracy, and defamation as dismissed claims.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Limandismissed10ofthe13claimsfiled bytheactor, most notablytheallegationsofsexualharassment,conspiracy,anddefamation.
https://www.zaptv.com/news/2026/04/judge-dismisses-blake-liv…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ...thecourt documents acquired by Page Six, a federaljudgehas ruled in favorofdismissing 10 outofthe13claimsin BlakeLively’slawsuit ...
https://urbanmatter.com/blake-livelys-sexual-harassment/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ...Lively'ssexualharassmentclaimsagainst ... LimandismissedLively'ssexualharassment,defamation,conspiracyandTitle VIIclaimsagainst Baldoni.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/blake-livelys-sexual-h…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 8: “A federal judge has thrown out the majority of Blake Lively’s claims against Justin Baldoni.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent news sources (BBC, NBC Washington) confirm the judge dismissed most of Lively's claims against Baldoni.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Judge dismisses most of Blake Lively's claims in harassment lawsuit against Baldoni
https://www.bbc.com/news/us-canada
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Judge dismisses most of Blake Lively claims in harassment suit against Baldoni
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ex59yy4j2o?at_medium=RSS…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Judge dismisses most of Blake Lively's claims in harassment lawsuit against Baldoni
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ex59yy4j2o
+ 2 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 9: “The same month, he threw out Baldoni’s $400m defamation claim against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries do not mention the $400m defamation claim, and no other sources confirm this specific detail.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The production of the 2024 American film It Ends with Us, starring American actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, has been the subject of controversy due to highly publicized disputes and litigation…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ends_with_Us_controversy
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — It Ends with Us is a 2024 American romantic drama film directed by Justin Baldoni and written by Christy Hall, based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover. The film stars Blake Lively alongside Baldoni,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ends_with_Us_(film)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Blake Ellender Brown (born August 25, 1987), known professionally as Blake Lively, is an American actress. A daughter of actor Ernie Lively, she made her professional debut in his directorial project …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_Lively
help
Claim 10: “The decision leaves Lively’s case with a more narrow purview, with its focus limited to the actor’s claims that Baldoni was behind a retaliatory campaign which shared and boosted negative stories about her online.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support this claim.
help
Claim 11: “Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her by making unwanted comments about her appearance and weight while filming the Colleen Hoover adaptation.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support this claim.
help
Claim 12: “Last June, Liman dismissed Lively’s two claims of emotional distress against Baldoni.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support this claim.
schedule
Claim 13: “The narrowed case is set to go to trial in May after mediation failed last month.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.