*

Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, smear

campaign

*

Baldoni's lawyers say he addressed Lively's concerns on

movie

set

*

Trial scheduled for May

(Adds start of hearing, paragraphs 1-2, comments from Baldoni's

lawyer, judge, in paragraphs 7-9)

NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday

began hearing arguments on actor Justin Baldoni's bid to dismiss

actor Blake Lively's lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment

and waging a smear campaign in connection with their 2024 movie

"It ‌Ends With Us."

Both sides are expected to make arguments at a hearing

before U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan, after an

acrimonious battle for more than ​a year that transfixed

Hollywood and involved names including Lively's husband Ryan

Reynolds and longtime friend Taylor Swift.

Lively, 38, accused Baldoni, ‍who directed and co-starred in

"It Ends With Us," and his Wayfarer Studios of ⁠coordinating a

scheme to silence her ⁠and others from speaking out about the

hostile environment they allegedly created on the film's set.

Thousands of pages of documents made public this week

included Lively's claim ‌that Baldoni, 41, pressured her

unnecessarily to simulate nudity during a ​film scene where her

character gave birth in a hospital.

Also released this week were text messages between Lively

and Swift, including a December 5, 2024, text message where the

superstar singer likened Lively's and ⁠Baldoni's relationship to

"a horror film no one knows is ‍taking place."

Lively is ​seeking unspecified damages for alleged

harassment, invasion of privacy and violations of federal and

state civil rights laws. A trial is scheduled for May 18.

Jonathan Bach, a lawyer for Baldoni, told the judge that

"context matters" ‍and that in the context of making a film with

adult situations, the "trivial things and petty slights" that

Lively alleged didn't support letting her case continue.

"It's not enough to show that sex or sexuality found its way

into the workplace", Bach said. "Their burden is to show that it

not only entered the workplace, but was used to discriminate

against women."

Bach also characterized Lively's case as being littered with

"small potatoes," prompting the judge to say: "A whole bunch of

little things can add up ​to a ‍big thing."

BALDONI HAS SAID HE ADDRESSED LIVELY'S CONCERNS

In seeking a dismissal, lawyers for Baldoni said he resolved

Lively's concerns about sporadic misunderstandings and "awkward

comments" on the film set, including over her physical

appearance, as soon as she ​raised them.

They also said Baldoni had a right to hire a crisis

management firm to defend his reputation after Lively began

disparaging him publicly.

Lively's lawyers countered that the dispute concerned more

than merely "minor annoyances fueled by creative differences."

They said a jury should consider the alleged "toxic

environment" where Baldoni and Wayfarer ignored numerous women's

claims of being sexualized and marginalized, and then pursued a

strategy of "deny" and "attack."

The dispute burst into public view in mid-December 2024 when

Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California

Civil Rights Department, followed by her lawsuit, and a ​New York

Times article titled: "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood

Smear Machine."

Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and

Reynolds of trying to destroy his reputation, but Liman

dismissed that case last June. The judge also dismissed

Baldoni's related $250 million defamation case against the

Times.

"It Ends With Us" generated mixed reviews but grossed ‍more

than $351 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo.