Rapper Gucci Mane was allegedly kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint at a Dallas music studio in January, the US Department of Justice announced on Thursday, 2 April, with fellow rappers Pooh Shiesty and Big30 among nine people charged in connection with the incident.

US Attorney Ryan Raybould told a press conference that the alleged attack took place on 10 January, when Pooh Shiesty, real name Lontrell Williams Jr., invited three music industry professionals, including Gucci Mane, to the studio for a business meeting to discuss the terms of his recording contract. 

What followed, according to Raybould and a federal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, was anything but a business meeting.

Shiesty and his alleged co-conspirators carried out what the DOJ described as “a coordinated armed takeover,” forcing one of the victims to sign a release from his recording contract at gunpoint. 

“The remaining conspirators displayed firearms and robbed the other victims of Rolex watches, jewelry, cash and other high-value items,” Raybould said. 

“One of the victims was actually choked by one of the defendants to the point of near unconsciousness.” Big30, born Rodney Lamont Wright Jr., allegedly barricaded the studio door to prevent the victims from escaping.

Making the alleged offence more remarkable, Shiesty, 26, was on home detention at the time for a prior firearms conspiracy conviction out of the Southern District of Florida. 

Also charged is his father, Lontrell Williams Sr., who is alleged to have helped plan and execute the kidnapping. 

Within hours of leaving the studio, several defendants reportedly posted pictures on social media showing items stolen from the victims.

Eight of the nine suspects have been arrested across Dallas, Memphis and Nashville. 

They include Shiesty, Big30, Williams Sr., Kedarius Waters, Terrance Rodgers, Damarian Gipson, Demarcus Glover, Kordae Johnson and Darrion McDaniel. If convicted, each faces a potential sentence of up to life in prison.

Raybould was direct about what the case represented. 

“They came to Dallas to conduct legitimate business and they were met with firearms and violence,” he said. 

“This case should serve as a warning to others who believe that using violence and intimidation tactics to rob others in our community is a viable way to conduct business. I’m here to say that it is not.”

Gucci Mane, real name Radric Davis, is the founder of 1017 Records, to which Shiesty was signed. 

In October 2024, Gucci Mane announced he was releasing most of his roster but notably retained Shiesty, who had just been released from prison after serving time for a 2022 guilty plea on firearms and drug charges. 

Representatives for Shiesty declined to comment on the allegations.

A federal judge in New York tossed out actor Blake Lively’s sexual harassment claims Thursday against actor Justin Baldoni over their roles in the movie “It Ends With Us,” but he left intact two retaliation claims, which will let a jury hear many of the allegations anyway.

The 152-page ruling by Judge Lewis J. Liman in Manhattan came after Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment among more than a dozen claims against Baldoni and other parties. 

A trial is scheduled to start on May 18. A brief phone conference was conducted after Liman issued his ruling. On the call, lawyers discussed the process of jury selection for the trial.

Baldoni, who directed the movie and co-starred opposite Lively, has denied the sexual harassment claims.

Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios had countersued for $400 million against Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. The judge dismissed Baldoni’s claims last June.

In his ruling, Liman determined that Lively was an independent contractor rather than an employee. On that basis, he said she was not entitled to bring sexual harassment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law prohibits employment discrimination on various grounds, including gender.  

In an analysis of the sexual harassment claims, the judge said Lively’s claims had to be viewed in the context of the movie they were working on.

“Lively claims that during filming, Baldoni leaned in and gestured as if he was intending to kiss her, and that he kissed her forehead, rubbed his face and mouth against her neck, put his thumb to her mouth and flicked her lower lip, caressed her, and leaned into her neck, saying ‘it smells good,'” the judge wrote.

He said there was no question that the conduct would support a hostile work environment claim if it happened on a factory floor or in an executive suite.

However, the judge noted, Baldoni was “acting in the scene.” 

“Assuming he was improvising, the conduct was not so far beyond what might reasonably be expected to take place between two characters during a slow dancing scene such that an inference of hostile treatment on the basis of sex would arise. At least in isolation, the conduct was directed to Lively’s character rather than to Lively herself,” he wrote.

“Creative artists, no less than comedy room writers, must have some amount of space to experiment within the bounds of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment,” Liman added.

Despite those findings, the judge said some sexual harassment claims may be put to a jury to support two retaliation claims that survived the ruling, including one against It Ends With Us Movie LLC and Wayfarer Studios, and a third claim that was left intact, alleging breach of a contract rider agreement against It Ends With Us Movie LLC.

The judge noted that Baldoni once said “pretty hot” after asking Lively to remove her jacket, exposing a lace bra underneath, and that when he was warned that it was inappropriate and distracting to make such comment, he allegedly rolled his eyes and responded: “Sorry, I missed the sexual harassment training.”

Liman also cited a scene in which Baldoni pushed for Lively to perform a birth scene naked and then the scene was filmed over several hours without the set being closed to nonessential personnel.

Attorneys for Baldoni said in a statement to CBS News that they’re “very pleased” the court dismissed the sexual harassment claims, stating they were “very serious allegations.” 

“What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court,” attorneys Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach said in a statement. 

An attorney for Lively said in a statement to CBS News that the case “has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation because she stood up for safety on the set and that is the case that is going to trial.”

“For Blake Lively, the greatest measure of justice is that the people and the playbook behind these coordinated digital attacks have been exposed and are already being held accountable by other women they’ve targeted,” said Sigrid McCawley, an attorney for Lively. “She looks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation so that it becomes easier to detect and fight.”

In February 2025, Lively alleged in an amended complaint that Baldoni made other women uncomfortable on the set of “It Ends with Us.” 

“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel that begins as a romance but takes a dark turn into domestic violence, was released in August 2024, exceeding box office expectations with a $50 million debut. But the movie’s release was shrouded by speculation over discord between Lively and Baldoni. 

Lively appeared in the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and the TV series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012 before starring in films including “The Town” and “The Shallows.”

Baldoni starred in the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed the 2019 film “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book challenging traditional notions of masculinity.

A federal judge has dismissed the majority of Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, throwing out ten of her thirteen claims including the central allegation of sexual harassment, but ruling that her accusations of retaliation will go before a jury at a trial scheduled for 18 May.

US District Judge Lewis Liman issued the ruling on Thursday, significantly narrowing the case that has played out in public and in the courts for over a year. 

The remaining claims centre on alleged breach of contract, retaliation by Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer, and aiding in retaliation by the public relations firm he hired.

The sexual harassment claim was dismissed on legal grounds, the judge found it lacked the substantial connection to California required under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and that Lively did not qualify under federal civil rights law because she was an independent contractor rather than an employee. 

“Ultimately, Lively fails to confront what is the central dilemma in her claim,” Liman wrote.

However, the court was far from dismissive of what happened in the aftermath of those allegations. 

Liman wrote that “certain conduct at least arguably crossed the line,” noting that there are limits to how someone accused of harassment can respond. 

“There comes a point where the accused stops simply defending him or herself and starts taking action that a reasonable jury could view as retaliation for the fact that the accuser had the temerity to make the accusations.” 

The judge also found “some direct evidence that the plan to destroy Lively and her career was put into action.”

Among the details that will now go before a jury: messaging points in Baldoni’s PR campaign claiming Lively had a poor industry reputation “spanning decades” and that production staff lost jobs due to her alleged takeover of the film. 

Crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan was quoted in court documents saying she couldn’t send certain materials “that could get us in a lot of trouble” and adding, “You know we can bury anyone.” 

Wayfarer founder Steve Sarowitz was quoted stating, “There will be two dead bodies when I’m done.” The court also noted that Baldoni requested his PR team spread a video portraying Lively as insensitive to domestic violence survivors.

Lively’s lawyer Sigrid McCawley said the case “has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation because she stood up for safety on the set.” 

She added that Lively “looks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation.”

Baldoni’s lawyers stressed the significance of the dismissals, saying what remained was “a significantly narrowed case.” 

All claims against Baldoni personally, along with those against Wayfarer founder Sarowitz and PR specialist Nathan, were dismissed.

The legal battle has been bruising on all sides. 

Baldoni filed a countersuit against Lively in January 2025 accusing her of extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy, but it was dismissed after his legal team missed a filing deadline. 

The New York Times also became embroiled in the dispute. 

Other cast members were drawn in too, with Isabela Ferrer alleging in court documents that Baldoni’s team acted “inappropriately” after she was subpoenaed, and text messages released in court showing Jenny Slate calling Baldoni “the biggest clown.”

Book author Colleen Hoover, whose novel inspired the film, summed up the toll of the whole affair. 

“It feels like a circus,” she told Elle. “Now it gives us PTSD to think about it.”