Hollywood’s golden couple, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, are asking a judge to step in and muzzle Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, claiming his public remarks about their ongoing legal dispute are inflammatory and misleading.
The duo filed a court letter Tuesday, requesting a protective order to curb what they describe as an “improper conduct” and a “harassing and retaliatory media campaign” orchestrated by Baldoni’s legal team, as reported by TMZ.
The couple alleges Freedman is flouting court rules by making statements to the media that are irrelevant to the case and potentially prejudicial to any jury involved. Among their grievances is the release of unedited footage from Baldoni’s film It Ends With Us, which Lively’s team asserts supports her initial allegations.
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Blake Lively first accused Baldoni of sexual harassment last December, alleging he participated in a calculated campaign to tarnish her reputation.
Baldoni hit back with a countersuit worth a staggering $400 million, accusing Lively of defamation and civil extortion, among other claims.
The behind-the-scenes footage at the heart of this dispute was released by Baldoni’s camp as a counter to Lively’s allegations, aiming to demonstrate he had not made inappropriate remarks or choreographed intimate scenes improperly.
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BLAKE LIVELY IS TOAST
Just-released!😱😱😱😱😱😱
VIDEO FOOTAGE OF
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni shooting the infamous dance scene in It Ends With Us that she claimed he harassed her in.
Notice these things:
1. She tells him to get a nose job
2. She gets defensive… pic.twitter.com/emcYzxySuI
— Colonel Kurtz -PopCulture/ Politics/ MarilynManson (@colonelkurtz99) January 21, 2025
Lively’s team, however, maintains the footage proves she was uncomfortable and supports her original complaint.
Bryan Freedman, known for his aggressive legal tactics, has taken his defense of Baldoni public, appearing on TMZ Live earlier this month to denounce what he called “smear campaigns” in Hollywood.
Freedman’s vocal defense has not sat well with Lively and Reynolds, who argue his media appearances are an attempt to litigate the case in the court of public opinion rather than in the courtroom.
Sources close to Baldoni, however, see things differently. One insider told TMZ it’s “grossly unfair” for Lively to push for a gag order after what they describe as a concerted effort to defame Baldoni, including a New York Times article that reportedly cost him three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars.
“All Justin wants to do,” the source claims, “is release videos and text messages to prove the allegations are false.”
The source also called Lively’s actions “unbelievable,” accusing her of launching a takedown campaign against Baldoni only to demand a gag order when he tries to defend himself.
As this high-profile battle rages on, it’s clear that neither side intends to back down quietly.
The question now is whether the court will intervene to silence Freedman, or if the legal and media sparring will continue in what’s shaping up to be a messy Hollywood showdown.
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