Justin BaldoniThe lawyer of has responded Blake Livelythe recent request for a gag order amid the couple’s ongoing legal drama.
According to a letter received from Us Weekly on Friday, Jan. 24, Baldoni’s attorney Kevin Fritz asked the judge to deny the gag order if it was formally requested by Lively’s team. Fritz claims that Lively, 37, started the “media food frenzy” and claims that she provided New York Times with a copy of her initial complaint which includes her allegations against Baldoni, 41, and his studio, Wayfarer.
“The results were extremely disastrous for Mr. Baldoni and the other Wayfarer parties, who immediately became the object of public scorn and contempt,” the letter said. “Wayfarer parties have already been banished from polite society and have suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages due to Ms. Lively’s scorched earth media campaign.”
Fritz claims the move by Lively’s legal team is a “scare tactic,” especially since Baldoni’s team recently released unseen footage of It ends with us which includes an interaction between Baldoni and Lively during a dance scene.
“The spirited parties’ desire to force the Wayfarer parties to defend themselves privately against allegations made publicly is not an appropriate basis for a gag order,” the letter continued. “It’s a tactical game and it’s outrageous.”
The decision will be discussed at a conference scheduled for February 12.
us has reached out to reps for Baldoni and Lively for comment.
Earlier this week, Brian Friedmanwho is additional counsel to Baldoni, played the video in an attempt to disprove Lively’s side of the story.
The footage obtained from us on Tuesday, Jan. 21, began with a statement that read: “Mrs. Lively’s complaint alleges that during a scene Mr. Baldoni and Ms. Lively filmed for a slow dance montage, Mr. Baldoni behaved inappropriately. The following videos, taken on May 23, 2023, clearly refute the characterization of Ms. Lively’s behavior. The scene in question is meant to show how the two characters fall in love and yearn to be close to each other. Both actors clearly behave well in the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism. These are all three photos taken of the sequence.
The footage shows a scene that also appears in Lively and Baldoni’s lawsuits. In the video, Lively and Baldoni were seen discussing his nose and the smell of her tan. (Baldoni claims in his court papers that Lively told him get a nose job. Lively, for her part, claims that Baldoni was out of character when he complimented her fragrance.)
After the video made headlines, Lively’s legal team responded to the clip, claiming it was “forbidding” because it corroborated her account.
Blake Lively’s legal team has responded to the new It Ends With Us video posted by Justin Baldoni’s lawyer. “Justin Baldoni and his attorney may be hoping this latest stunt will preempt the damning evidence against him, but the video itself is damning. Every frame of the leaked footage confirms that (…)
“The video shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning toward Ms. Lively, trying to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth on her neck, thumbing her lip, caressing her, telling her how good she smells , and speaking to her out of character,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement to us on Tuesday.
the next day, us received a letter that Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynoldsfiled in court on Tuesday, is seeking a protective order to prevent Friedman from engaging in “misconduct” against the couple. The couple argued that Friedman violated court rules that prevent a lawyer from making statements to the press that are unrelated to the case and could potentially prejudice the jury.
Lively and Baldoni’s legal drama began last month when she filed a lawsuit against the director, alleging he sexually harassed her and created a hostile work environment while on set It ends with us. Baldoni vehemently denied the allegations. He subsequently sued New York Times for $250 million for the outlet’s reporting on Lively’s claims against him. Baldoni is also suing Lively, Reynolds and Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloanand it is seeks $400 million in case of damage.
