In the latest episode of The Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni It Ends With Us Legal Disaster, the Gossip Girl actress dropped two emotional distress claims against the Man Enough podcast host.

Without context, this seems like a fairly surprising move, considering Blake accused her It Ends With Us costar and director of sexual harassment and retaliation back in December 2024. Her claims of emotional distress were included in her original lawsuit. Justin then responded with his own lawsuit alleging defamation, and he and Blake are set to go to trial on March 9, 2026. The legal battle has been extremely messy so far, with private text messages (and a seven-minute voice memo) exposed to the public, and a controversial Taylor Swift subpoena that’s since been withdrawn. So, why would Blake Lively drop claims of emotional distress against Justin Baldoni at this point in the process? Here’s a breakdown of the confusing update, plus Blake’s legal team’s statement on the matter.

Blake Lively Drops Emotional Distress Claims Against Justin Baldoni

Why Blake Lively Dropped Emotional Distress Claims Against Justin Baldoni

Blake’s initial December 31 filing against Justin and his Wayfarer Studios included a tenth Cause of Action for intentional infliction of emotional distress and an eleventh Cause of Action for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Over the weekend, it came to light that she requested to “withdraw and dismiss” her claims of infliction of emotional distress — but that move didn’t come out of nowhere.

Justin’s lawyer, Kevin Fritz, filed a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman in U.S. District Court Southern District of New York asking for “an order compelling Blake Lively to identify her medical and mental health care providers” by signing a HIPAA release for access to medical and mental health care records. Rather than granting that access, Blake chose to withdraw her claims “without prejudice.” Per the letter, the actress will not “disclose the information and documents needed to disprove that she suffered any emotional distress” and seeks to “maintain the right to re-file her [infliction of emotional distress claims] at an unknown time in this or some other court after the discovery window has closed.”

Blake Lively’s Statement On Dropping Emotional Distress Claims Against Justin Baldoni

In a statement shared with People, Blake’s lawyers, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb responded: “Once again, this is a routine part of the litigation process that is being used as a press stunt. We are doing what trial lawyers do: preparing our case for trial by streamlining and focusing it; they are doing what they do: desperately seeking another tired round of tabloid coverage.” They noted that Blake “continues to allege emotional distress, as part of numerous other claims in her lawsuit, such as sexual harassment and retaliation, and massive additional compensatory damages on all of her claims.”