With Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s May 18 trial coming closer, both sides have reportedly filed new motions arguing over whether jurors should hear allegations that Baldoni made comments about Lively’s weight during the production of their movie, “It Ends With Us.”
The dispute matters because the case has already been narrowed down. Now, the judge may reportedly limit evidence to match the remaining claims, and will likely address these and other evidence fights at a final pretrial hearing on April 28.
PEOPLE reported that in an April 10 motion, lawyers for Wayfarer Studios asked the judge to exclude the claims related to weight. They argued that the allegations made by Blake Lively about Justin Baldoni’s comments on her weight are “irrelevant” to the case as it now stands and would “serve only to inflame the jury and cause unfair prejudice.”
That request followed an April 2 ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, who dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Wayfarer. Moreover, the ruling removed Baldoni as a defendant on the dismissed claims, though Wayfarer remains in the case.
Now, as a result, Wayfarer’s lawyers say that the trial should focus on Lively’s retaliation claims related to the alleged smear campaign, not workplace harassment.
Meanwhile, Lively’s lawyers argued that jurors should still hear the allegations because they give “necessary context” for the retaliation assertions. They also said that the alleged comments form “part of the same course of conduct” and “bear directly on the reasonableness of her belief” that she was fighting behavior that she believed crossed a line.
PEOPLE reported that in her December 2024 complaint, Blake Lively alleged Justin Baldoni made comments on her body and weight during production. Now, whatever the judge decides could shape the narrative that the jury hears when the trial begins in New York City on May 18.