NEW YORK — Attorneys for Justin Baldoni filed a motion Friday in Manhattan federal court asking a judge to exclude evidence related to the alleged experiences of seven other women ahead of his May trial against Blake Lively. The motion was filed in the sexual harassment lawsuit Lively brought against Baldoni, who directed and starred alongside her in the 2024 film It Ends With Us.

Lively sued Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of the film and alleging that his production company, Wayfarer Studios, retaliated against her after she complained. Baldoni and Wayfarer denied her claims. U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed 10 of Lively's 13 claims, including sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy. The trial is set for May in New York, focused on her remaining claims of breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation.

In the filing, Baldoni's attorneys described the evidence they sought to block as a "grab bag of awkward comments, minor confrontations, and perceived slights." They argued that the incidents were so attenuated from any actionable discrimination claim that they would waste time and confuse the jury about what is and is not relevant. The attorneys also said such evidence does little to establish the existence of a hostile work environment.

The filing detailed several of the allegations at issue. It stated that co-star Jenny Slate complained that Baldoni said she looked "sexy" in her character's wardrobe, called her "unprofessional," and sometimes made awkward jokes. Slate raised her concerns with producer Alex Saks and received a prompt apology from Baldoni, experiencing no further incidents, according to the filing. Slate testified that she felt her issues were adequately resolved on set, the filing stated.

The motion also listed other women whose experiences were at issue, including Saks; film co-star Isabela Ferrer; screenwriter Christy Hall; Liz Plank, co-host of a podcast with Baldoni and Jamey Heath; and Claire Ayoub, a director who worked with Baldoni on a different film. The filing stated that neither Plank nor Ayoub worked on the movie and that their concerns were distinct from and not similar to Lively's concerns about sexualized comments and encounters.

Baldoni's attorneys said that Lively was unaware of any of the other incidents during the filming of It Ends With Us except for the comment directed at Slate. Author Colleen Hoover, who wrote the novel on which the film was based, played no part in Lively's workplace experience, had no contractual right to participate in the film, and was not present on set, according to the filing.