Entertainment
Judge rules against Blake Lively’s major claim on Justin Baldoni
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.”
Entertainment
Taylor Swift plans to reunite with Sabrina Carpenter, Sombr at Coachella
Taylor Swift has never performed at the Coachella stage but she is reportedly returning as an attendee this year at the event to watch her friends perform.
The 36-year-old pop superstar last attended the festival in 2024 with her now-fiancé Travis Kelce and the two seemed to be having the best time as they danced and sang along together.
This year, the Opalite hitmaker is expected to attend her pals Sabrina Carpenter and Sombr’s Coachella sets both of whom have highly-anticipated performances planned for the festival.
Carpenter is one of the headliners for this year – alongside Justin Bieber and Karol G, and will be performing on April 10, 11, and 12.
While Sombr is listed as a performer on April 12 and April 19.
Excited fans quickly flocked to the comments and collectively hoped, “SABRINA NEEEDSSSSS TO BRING OUT TAYLOR OMG,” for their collaboration The Life of a Showgirl title track.
Some also chanted, “I need Sabrina to arrest Taylor,” referring to her Juno arrest tradition.
Despite the rumours, Swift’s attendance is not confirmed as of yet.
Entertainment
Jack Black celebrates major moment with his ‘Saturday Night Live’ return
Jack Black has added another feather to his cap with his latest Saturday Night Live appearance.
Hitting a new milestone, the Kung Fu Panda star joined the show’s Five-Timers Club, an honour reserved for hosts who have appeared five times.
The newly minted five-timer was inducted into the aristocratic SNL club by a cavalcade of elites, with cameos from Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Candice Bergen and Melissa McCarthy.
Moreover, the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle actor’s monologue turned into a surprise musical performance of Seven Nation Army as he teamed up with Jack White.
After Black’s successful induction, White entered the scene for a reworked rendition of the signature 2003 single by The White Stripes, featuring altered lyrics referencing the Five-Timers Club and the night’s episode, while maintaining the song’s iconic guitar riff.
The latest episode comes after the NBC comedy sketch series released a promo on Wednesday, April 1, with the 56-year-old actor and comedian filming a “Get Ready With Me” vertical video before hosting SNL.
“The musical guest is my brother from another color, Jack White,” the similarly named Grammy winner quips before breaking out into an air guitar solo. “And because I’m hosting the show for the one, two, three, four — count ’em — fifth time!”
Entertainment
Artemis astronauts to study the Moon’s surface using mainly their eyes
More than 50 years after humans first flew around the Moon, Artemis astronauts will repeat the feat on Monday and use the most basic instrument to study it: their eyes.
Despite the technological advancements since the Apollo missions, Nasa still relies on the eyesight of its astronauts to learn more about the Moon.
“The human eye is basically the best camera that could ever or will ever exist,” Kelsey Young, the lead scientist for the Artemis 2 mission, told AFP.
“The number of receptors in the human eye far outweighs what a camera is able to do.”
Although modern cameras may be superior to human eyesight in some respects, “the human eye is really good at color, and it’s really good at context, and it’s also really good at photometric observations,” Young said.
Humans can understand how lighting changes surface details, like how angled lighting reveals texture but reduces visible color.
In just the blink of an eye, humans can detect a subtle color shift and understand how lighting changes the contours of a landscape like the Moon’s surface, details which are scientifically useful but difficult to ascertain from photos or videos.
Artemis 2 astronaut Victor Glover, who pilots the Orion spacecraft, said before liftoff this week that eyes were a “magical instrument.”
Field scientists
To ensure they made the most of their proximity to the Moon, the four Artemis 2 crew members underwent more than two years of training.
Young said the goal was to turn the astronauts into “field scientists” via a combination of classroom lessons, geological expeditions to Iceland and Canada, and multiple simulated flybys of the Moon, just like the mission they are on.
The three American astronauts — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch — along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, all had to memorise the Moon’s “Big 15,” or the 15 features of the Moon that will allow them to orient themselves.
Using an inflatable Moon globe, they practiced seeing how the angle of the sun changed the colors and textures of the lunar surface, honing their observation and note-taking skills for the big moment.
“I can tell you, they are excited and they are ready,” Young said with a smile.
‘About the size of a basketball’
The Artemis astronauts’ mission is to study certain lunar sites and phenomena as part of 10 objectives chosen by Nasa and ranked in priority order based on scientific interest.
During the Moon flyby, which will last for several hours, the crew will have to observe the celestial body with their naked eyes, along with cameras they have on board.
Noah Petro, head of Nasa’s planetary geology lab, told AFP that the Moon will look to the astronauts “about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.”
“The question I’m most interested in is, are they going to be able to see color on the lunar surface,” Petro said.
“I don’t mean rainbow colors, but you know, dark browns or tan colors because that tells us something about the composition, and that tells us something about the history of the Moon.”
David Kring of the Lunar and Planetary Institute told AFP he is not expecting any earth-shattering discoveries because of the multiple lunar probes and high-resolution images of the Moon taken since the Apollo missions.
Nevertheless, “having astronauts describing what they’re seeing… That is an occurrence that at least two generations of people on Earth have never heard before,” he said.
The Artemis 2 flyby will be broadcast live by Nasa, save for a period for when the spacecraft is behind the moon.
“Just listening to their practice descriptions in the mission simulations… It brings chills up my arms,” Young said.
“I am absolutely confident that these four people are going to deliver some incredible descriptions.”
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