In a federal lawsuit filed in December, Blake Lively claimed that a mysterious Texas-based social media guru ran an untraceable smear campaign against her at the behest of Justin Baldoni. On Wednesday, a judge granted Jed Wallace's motion to dismiss himself as a defendant in the case. Judge Lewis Liman made his ruling without prejudice, meaning Lively has until July 31 to file an amended complaint or sue in him in a different jurisdiction. Still, the decision is a blow to her claim that she endured a smear campaign at the hands of the man who was enlisted by Baldoni and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jen Abel during the run-up to the 2024 drama "It Ends With Us," which Baldoni directed and Lively toplined. More from Variety Blake Lively Wins Ruling That Her Deposition in Justin Baldoni Case Will Be Held on Her Turf Justin Baldoni Can Seek Messages Between Taylor Swift and Blake Lively, Judge Rules Blake Lively Moves to Block Justin Baldoni From Obtaining Taylor Swift Communications Judge Liman ruled that the Lively did not prove her case that New York is the proper venue for Wallace to be sued. "The Wallace Defendant's motion to dismiss must be granted because the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over them," Judge Liman wrote in a 38-page ruling. "The alleged negative publicity campaign against Lively largely took place outside of New York. The few alleged actions targeting New York were taken by others, and there are no allegations suggesting the Wallace Defendants were aware of them. Therefore, the Wallace Defendants cannot be forced to defend this lawsuit in New York." Lively had argued that Wallace and his boutique firm Street Relations worked in tandem with Baldoni and his team to plant negative stories about her in retaliation for her complaints about alleged sexual harassment complaints she made during the production of the Sony domestic violence drama that became a breakout hit last summer. "Lively alleges that as part of their efforts to 'bury' Lively, Nathan, Abel, Wallace, and Street Relations 'targeted New York by, among other things, communicating with (or causing content to be provided to) journalists, content creators and media entities based in New York, including at least one journalist at the New York Post and another at the New York Times,' … to shape coverage and contribute to stories that were eventually published in those outlets," Liman wrote. "These allegations might support personal jurisdiction against Abel and Nathan … even if those two did not engage in their conduct from within New York. … However, Lively has not alleged facts that would show that the Wallace Defendants were aware of those jurisdictional contacts." Nathan and her firm TAG are based in Los Angeles as is Abel. "The Amended Complaint alleges that Wallace was generally in contact with Abel, Nathan, and TAG, and that they worked together to suppress negative content about Baldoni and amplify negative content about Lively. It is fair to infer that Wallace would have known, as a general matter, that Abel and Nathan were talking to media in furtherance of this aim." Lively's case against Baldoni and several other members of his team including two publicists will proceed in federal court with Judge Liman overseeing. It is one of a handful of cases tied to friction on the set of "It Ends With Us." Baldoni's defamation suit against Lively and others including the New York Times, which published the first story about what allegedly happened on that set,was thrown out. Wallace is separately suing Lively for defamation in Texas. In a statement toVariety, Lively's spokesperson says: "Ms. Lively respects the Court's decision, which has nothing to do with the merits of her allegations about Mr. Wallace's role in the smear campaign and relates solely to the procedural question of whether he is subject to jurisdiction in New York or elsewhere. We currently are evaluating our numerous options for holding Mr. Wallace accountable for the pivotal role he served in the retaliatory effort that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties paid him at least tens of thousands of dollars a month to perform." Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety - New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples Sign up forVariety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram.
