Justin Baldoni's attorney is fighting back against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' attempt to silence him amid their escalating legal battle over harassment claims from "It Ends With Us."
"We will never be bullied by those suggesting we cannot defend our clients with pure, unedited facts," attorney Bryan Freedman told TMZ yestreday (Saturday). He claims the A-list couple is wielding their Hollywood influence to instill "pure fear."
The tension escalated Tuesday when Baldoni's team released behind-the-scenes footage, prompting Lively and Reynolds to seek a gag order. The footage shows three takes of a scene central to Lively's harassment allegations. While her team calls it "damning," Baldoni's camp insists it proves his innocence.
This latest clash follows a month of legal drama that began with Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni, claiming he harassed her on set and launched a smear campaign. Baldoni countered with a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane for defamation and civil extortion. He separately sued The New York Times for $250 million over their coverage of Lively's allegations.
"It seems that in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act," Freedman added, suggesting the couple's gag order request reveals their own fears.
Lawyers for Lively and Reynolds argue Freedman's press statements have been "false, irrelevant and harassing," potentially prejudicing the public. They're asking the court to halt what they term his "improper conduct" and "retaliatory media campaign."
The case reminds us of the ridiculous Depp-Heard trial that dominated headlines in 2022. It's already rapidly evolved from private allegations to a full-scale media war, complete with multi-million dollar lawsuits, viral evidence releases, and fierce public relations battles.
Both sides appear poised to leverage every available platform to sway public sentiment, suggesting this could become Hollywood's next major legal spectacle.
Bring on the popcorn.
NY Daily contributed to this article.
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