Blake Lively claims Justin Baldoni’s team continues to run a “retaliation campaign” against her since legal battle began

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds allege that Justin Baldoni and his team have continued a retaliation campaign against her following her lawsuit. On January 24, Lively's lawyers filed a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman, renewing their request for a gag order against Baldoni's legal team, specifically targeting his chief lawyer, Bryan Freedman.

The four-page letter, exclusively reported by Deadline, alleged that Baldoni's team is continuing to run a retaliation campaign against Lively. The actress' attorney, Esra Hudson stated in the letter:

"Even more troubling, however, is that the retaliation campaign that Ms. Lively alleged in her Complaint, with substantial supporting documentation, includes highly destructive behind-the-scenes elements, including the regular engagement of [Baldoni's PR] Melissa Nathan with her vast tabloid media sources to influence a steady stream of negative media regarding Ms. Lively, as well as a sophisticated and 'untraceable' digital social media manipulation campaign designed to impact social media algorithms against Ms. Lively."

The letter further stated:

"The Lively-Reynolds Parties are informed and believe that these efforts have continued unabated since the CRD Complaint was filed, and may have even been accelerated. The administration of justice in this case will be severely compromised if this behavior continues."

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' initial gag order request against Baldoni's legal team came after the latter released a video clip featuring Baldoni and Lively from the sets of It Ends With Us. The video was released to disprove some of Lively's s*xual harassment allegations against Justin Baldoni.

Blake Lively's team retaliated by requesting a gag order against Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman over "improper conduct." In a filing dated January 21, Kevin Fritz from Baldoni's legal team rejected the request for a gag order by writing to Judge Litman.

These latest developments are a part of the ongoing legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni that began in December 2024. Lively accused her co-star of alleged s*xual harassment, improper workplace conduct, and indulging in a PR campaign to tarnish her reputation.

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Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds reiterate their request for a gag order against Justin Baldoni's lawyer in a legal letter

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds - Candids - Source: Getty

In their letter filed on January 24, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds doubled down on their request for a gag order against Justin Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman. In their legal letter, their attorney Esra Hudson mentioned that the gag order is necessary due to the alleged "extrajudicial statements" made by Freedman.

"Requiring counsel to heed the ethical rules that bind them is not a gag order; it is a mechanism that would ensure the proceedings in this Court are not prejudiced by counsel's conduct outside of the courtroom. The Wayfarer Parties are attempting to draw a dangerous false equivalence that may have profound consequences not just for this case, but for other women who are sexually harassed in the workplace given the high profile of this matter," the legal letter said.

Blake Lively's request came hours after one of Justin Baldoni's attorneys, Kevin Fritz wrote to Judge Liman requesting him to reject her initial request for an "appropriate protective order" that would prevent Baldoni's legal team from making public statements about the legal battle. Fritz called the request an "intimidation tactic" in the letter filed on Thursday, January 23.

The letter further mentioned that certain legal guidelines allow attorneys "to make statements 'required to protect a client from the substantial prejudicial effect of recent publicity not initiated by the lawyer or the lawyer’s client.'" Justin Baldoni's attorneys called Reynolds and Lively's request "inflammatory" and denied making any extrajudicial statements that could "materially influence" the case.

"Having publicly made ruinous allegations that the Wayfarer Parties can prove are false, the Lively Parties now invoke attorney disciplinary rules as an intimidation tactic," the letter read.

"The Lively Parties’ desire to force the Wayfarer Parties to defend themselves privately against allegations made publicly is not a proper basis for a gag order. It is tactical gamesmanship, and it is outrageous. If, as the Lively Parties’ letter suggests, such a protective order is formally requested, it should be denied," it added.

They also stressed the alleged consequences of the New York Times article dated December 21 based on Blake Lively's first complaint against Justin Baldoni. As per the actor's legal team, the article had "utterly calamitous" effects and made Baldoni and the other defendants objects of "public scorn and contempt."

Since the article was published, Lively's team has indulged in "a very much ongoing attempt to rehabilitate Ms. Lively’s image at the Wayfarer Parties’ expense", the letter further asserted.

"Already, the Wayfarer Parties have been exiled from polite society and suffered damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars due to Ms. Lively’s scorched-earth media campaign," the letter added.

Blake Lively's team requested a gag order against Justin Baldoni's legal team after the latter released a 10-minute viral video featuring the two stars on the sets of It Ends With Us. Baldoni's team claimed that the video was released to "refute Ms. Lively's characterization of his behavior."

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's lawyers are set to hold a pretrial conference on February 12.