Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Request Gag Order Against Justin Baldoni’s Lawyer

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are requesting 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 says 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 banal as document preservation demands to third parties) to the Hollywood press and tabloid media.” They also feel Freedman is trying to prejudice the potential jury pool by controlling the media narrative.

The letter argues that Freedman’s actions are basically a continuation of the retaliation campaign Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios allegedly started when Lively first called out Baldoni’s behavior on the set of It Ends With Us. Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and crisis PR firm The Agency Group for sexual harassment and retaliation. The complaint was written up 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 NYT for libel. Freedman represents both Baldoni and Wayfarer.

One of the main leaks discussed in the letter is the It Ends With Us behind-the-scenes footage Freedman released on the 21st. Both Baldoni and Lively say the footage corroborates their side of the story. “Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of 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 “every frame” of the BTS footage corroborates her story. “The video shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning in toward Ms. Lively, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and talking with her out of character. Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present.”

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

Freedman on the other hand, says the footage backs up the Baldoni/Wayfarer accounting of events. “Prior to filing her lawsuit in court, Ms. Lively went to The New York Times in an effort to publicly destroy Justin Baldoni,” he tells THR. “When Mr. Baldoni exercises his right to publicly defend himself by putting forth actual facts and evidence, for Ms Lively and team this instantly becomes morally and ethically wrong. Ms. Lively wants very different standards to apply 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 now, not want this to play out in public.”