Blake Lively vowed to continue fighting “digital violence” on Friday, a day after a judge dismissed her sexual harassment claim against co-star Justin Baldoni.
Lively said in an Instagram statement that the crux of the case will be heard by a jury next month and that she looks forward to telling her story in court.
“The last thing I wanted in my life was a lawsuit, but I am filing this lawsuit because I have faced and continue to face pervasive retaliation for seeking a safe working environment for myself and others both personally and professionally,” she said. “I hope this court’s decision shows others that they can have a voice, even if it causes immeasurable pain.”
Lively claimed that she was sexually harassed during production, and that after she complained about it, Baldoni and his publicist launched a digital smear campaign to destroy her reputation.
On Thursday, Judge Louis Lehman dismissed 10 of the 13 claims in Lively’s lawsuit, including claims of sexual harassment, defamation and conspiracy. He agreed to proceed to trial on three claims: retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract.
In a statement, Lively urged fans not to be put off by the characterization of the lawsuit as a “celebrity drama,” saying the framing was designed to “keep myself from seeing myself in my story.”
“The physical pain of digital violence is very real,” she wrote. “This is abuse. And it’s everywhere. Not just on the news, but in your community and in your schools. My allegations will not be the first or last time you see examples of the extreme dangers of retaliation and digital warfare. And in many cases, it’s not directed at celebrities or those who can speak out. This affects all of us.”
Mr. Lehman ruled that Mr. Lively could not bring a sexual harassment lawsuit under federal law because she was an independent contractor and not an employee. Additionally, because the production took place in New Jersey, there was no harassment claim under California law.
As to the issue of retaliation, we found that she made a plausible case that there was a bona fide basis for her harassment complaint. That means a jury will decide whether she faces unlawful retaliation for raising the harassment complaint.
Her agency, WME, which parted ways with Baldoni over the accusations surrounding “It Ends with Us,” issued a statement Friday supporting Lively and her remaining claims, saying, “She helped expose the devastating damage caused by a secret digital deletion campaign.”
WME said in a statement: “In an industry that too often asks women to absorb harm and remain silent, Blake Lively chose to stand up for herself, her castmates, and those who don’t have the ability to fight back.” “She rose to this moment with courage, moral clarity, and extraordinary determination. Even as others tried to make a spectacle out of this incident, she remained focused on the facts, accountability, and the right to speak out without fear of reprisal. In doing so, she She helped expose the devastating damage caused by a covert digital takedown campaign designed to intimidate, discredit and obliterate the truth, and we offer our full support to her and her family as this case progresses to trial.”
The magistrate ordered a telephone call between the two sides on Monday to discuss the updated settlement position. A magistrate presided over a mandatory settlement conference in February that came to no fruition, but the judge’s recent ruling may have changed the situation.
Lively’s lawyer, Sigrid McCauley, suggested in a statement Thursday that Lively may have already achieved her goal.
“For Blake Lively, the greatest measure of justice is that the people and schemes behind these coordinated digital attacks are exposed and are already being held accountable by the other women who were targeted,” McCauley said.
But Lively added that she looks forward to testifying at the trial in May and will “continue to shine a light on this egregious online retaliation to make it easier to discover and combat.”
