Justin Baldoni's Lawyers Want Judge to Deny Any Gag Order, Argue Blake Lively Started 'Media Feeding Frenzy'

Mar. 15, 2025

Justin Baldoni’s lawyers wantBlake Lively’s prospectiverequest for a gag order to be denied, arguing she first brought their legal battle to the public forum.

After Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedmanleaked a 10-minute videofrom theIt Ends With Usset andannounced plans for a website to disclose more, lawyers for Lively, 37, motioned for a conference before Judge Lewis J. Liman to address “the appropriate conduct of counsel.”

They wrote in the letter that “federal litigation must be conducted in court and according to the relevant rules of professional conduct” and claimed Freedman’s interviews and statements risked “tainting the jury pool.”

Lively’s “desire to force the Wayfarer Parties to defend themselves privately against allegations made publicly is not a proper basis for a gag order,” reads the letter. “It is tactical gamesmanship, and it is outrageous.”

They said Baldoni, 41, and his Wayfarer Studios associates also named in Lively’s lawsuit have been “exiled from polite society and suffered damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars” after her complaint came to light. According to the letter, Baldoni faced “utterly calamitous” fallout, and they “instantly became objects of public scorn and contempt.”

Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni.Katie Jones/Beauty Inc via Getty; Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty

Katie Jones/Beauty Inc via Getty; Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty

Baldoni’s legal team argues that Lively started the “media feeding frenzy” alleging she providedThe New York Timeswith a copy of her original complaintfor the article “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine,” which broke down the details of her allegations against Baldoni and his associates.

In that Dec. 21 article, Lively said in a statement: “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”

Freedman has called the claims made in Lively’s complaint “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”

Justin Baldoni on Aug. 8, 2024.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

Later, in January, Baldoni countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds as well as their publicistfor $400 million on claims of defamation and extortion.Lively’s lawyers called his lawsuit “meritless” and “desperate.” They added, in part, “The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”

Blake Lively on Aug. 3, 2024.Gotham/GC Images

Gotham/GC Images

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Baldoni, director and star ofIt Ends With Us, and his team have “nothing to hide” and “have the right to defend themselves with the truth,” Freedman said after releasing the video, which sparked another round of media analysis and online debate over the allegations.

In response to thevideo being shared to the public, Lively’s lawyerssaid in a statement that it was an “unethical attempt to manipulate the public” and a “continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign.”

“While they are focused on misleading media narratives, we are focused on the legal process,” her team said. “We are continuing our efforts to require Mr. Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts.”

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12 in New York City.

source: people.com