Lawsuits End With Us: Lively/Reynolds Request Gag Order

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are seeking a gag order against Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman. In a letter written to Judge Lewis J. Liman and obtained by E! News, their legal team claims that almost every day since Lively filed her initial complaint, “Mr. Freedman has given television interviews, appeared on podcasts, issued inflammatory written statements, and leaked information (including, remarkably, documents as mundane as requirements for document preservation to third parties) to the Hollywood press and tabloid media. They also believe that Freedman is attempting to prejudice the potential jury by controlling the media narrative.

The letter argues that Freedman’s actions are basically a continuation of the retaliatory campaign that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios allegedly launched when Lively first exposed Baldoni’s behavior on the set of It ends with us. Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and crisis PR firm The Agency Group for sexual harassment and retaliation. The complaint was filed in the New York Times, detailing Lively’s allegations. Baldoni is suing Lively, Reynolds and their PR rep for defamation and extortion, as well as the New York Times for defamation. Freedman represents both Baldoni and Wayfarer.

One of the main leaks mentioned in the letter is the It ends with us behind the scenes Freedman images released on the 21st. Baldoni and Lively say the images support their version of the story. “Justin Baldoni and his attorney may hope that this latest case will outpace the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning,” Lively’s team said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. They go on to say that “every frame” of BTS’s footage supports their story. “The video shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning toward Ms. Lively, trying to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, brushing her lips with his thumb, caressing her, telling her to how good she smells, and talking with her out of character Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni without prior discussion or consent, and without the presence of an intimacy coordinator.

Lively’s lawyers claim that the footage of her joking with Baldoni is her attempt to appease Baldoni. “Any woman who has been touched inappropriately in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort,” they say. “They will recognize his attempts at levity to try to deflect unwanted touching.”

Freedman, on the other hand, claims that the footage supports Baldoni/Wayfarer’s account of events. “Before filing her complaint in court, Ms. Lively visited The New York Times with the aim of publicly destroying Justin Baldoni,” he said. THR. “When Mr. Baldoni exercises his right to defend himself publicly by presenting real facts and evidence, for Ms. Lively and her team, it instantly becomes morally and ethically reprehensible. Ms. Lively wishes very different standards applied to her, but fortunately, truth and authenticity apply to everyone and can never be wrong. Looking at the video and the evidence to come, I can understand why Ms. Lively would not want this to play out in public.