Last Updated:January 23, 2026, 14:32 IST

“I don’t know if the court is familiar with the show ‘Heated Rivalry,’” said Justin Baldoni while dismissing Blake Lively’s accusations.

The lawyer, while arguing, said, “context matters”. (Photo Credit: Instagram)

On Thursday, in a courtroom proceeding, Justin Baldoni’s lawyers requested a judge to dismiss Blake Lively’s lawsuit, which alleges sexual harassment and retaliation related to their 2024 film It Ends With Us.

Baldoni’s attorney, Jonathan Bach, opened arguments by characterising the allegations as a “misinterpretation of on-set improvisation” during sexually charged scenes. According to Bach, such improvisation, when rooted in the characters’ relationship, does not amount to gender-based harassment. The courtroom briefly broke into laughter when Bach remarked, “I don’t know if the court is familiar with the show ‘Heated Rivalry,’” and Judge Lewis Liman admitted he was not.

Bach explained that the HBO Max series includes several “explicit” scenes and used it to counter an argument made earlier by Lively’s counsel, who had argued that the improvisation cannot justify unconsented physical contact. He questioned whether similar improvised intimacy between two male actors would lead to claims of gender-based discrimination. Bach repeatedly argued that any “touching between Baldoni and Lively arose from their characters, not from Lively being a woman.”

Black Lively Was Aware Of ‘Hot And Sexy Scenes’

He further noted that Lively agreed to participate in It Ends With Us, knowing it would feature “hot and sexy scenes” that would become “steamy and turbulent.” Judge Liman immediately pushed back, clarifying that Bach was “not suggesting” the film’s subject matter allowed Baldoni to touch Lively freely. Bach agreed. “So maybe you can actually help me understand where the lines are,” Liman said, prompting Bach to stress that “context matters.” He maintained that if anything felt awkward, it was in pursuit of a creative aesthetic and dismissed the complaints as “small potatoes.”

Blake Lively’s Lawyer Weighs In

Esra Hudson, representing Lively, told the court that crucial facts are disputed and therefore require a jury’s evaluation. She highlighted conflicting versions of an incident involving executive producer Jamey Heath, who entered a room while Lively was nude from the waist up. Heath says he heard someone tell him to come in; Lively and her hair and makeup artists recall saying, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, no.”

Hudson concluded by highlighting the issue of consent. Lively was “kissed, nuzzled and touched” without consenting, she argued, regardless of knowing the film involved intimate scenes. Judge Liman pressed Hudson on how consent functions when improvisation is involved to shed light on the complexity of the case.