Blake Lively’s courtroom victory over Justin Baldoni has come under the radar after social media users uncovered a past connection between the actress and the brother of federal Judge Lewis J Liman, who dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit.On Monday, Judge Liman of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the ‘It Ends With Us’ director’s defamation and extortion lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times.Judge Liman ruled that Lively’s statements were made within the bounds of legal privilege and could not serve as the basis for a defamation claim. However, shortly after the decision, social media users began circulating a detail that has since gone viral. The viral post claims that the judge is the brother of Hollywood filmmaker Doug Liman, who directed Lively in the past. The post claimed that the actress was a teen when she worked with director Doug in a 2008 pro-Obama campaign ad for MoveOn.org. The ad also featured Lively’s Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley.“FUN FACT: the judge that dismissed Justin Baldoni’s claims against Blake Lively is Lewis Liman, brother to Doug Liman. Doug and Blake worked together years ago—small world,” wrote one user on X, triggering a wave of commentary and speculation.Some critics questioned a potential conflict of interest, despite the brief and indirect nature of the connection. “I don’t understand how he could preside then. That’s a conflict of interest, I’d assume,” one commenter wrote.Others quickly pushed back, arguing that the 2008 collaboration between Lively and Doug Liman—a commercial involving dozens of public figures—hardly constituted grounds for judicial recusal. “You think this judge would dismiss a lawsuit because Blake did a COMMERCIAL with his brother? Lmfao,” one user replied.Judge Lewis J Liman, a Harvard and Yale Law School graduate, has served on the federal bench since 2019 following a distinguished legal career that included time as a federal prosecutor and appellate division chief. His brother Doug has directed major studio films including The Bourne Identity, Swingers, and Edge of Tomorrow.There is no indication at this time of any formal conflict of interest or ethics violation. The judge has not commented on the social media reaction, and legal experts have noted that distant, professional overlaps involving family members are generally not disqualifying—especially when no ongoing or personal relationship exists.Lively celebrated the dismissal on Monday with a public statement, saying, “I’m more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity, and their story,” she wrote.The judge, however, said Baldoni could revise the lawsuit if he wanted to pursue different claims related to whether Lively breached or interfered with a contract. His legal team indicated it planned to do so.
