Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds seek private text confidentiality in ongoing lawsuit with Justin Baldoni

It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal battle continues, with Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, now reportedly seeking to add an additional layer of protection to keep sensitive information private. During a virtual court hearing on Thursday, March 6, 2025, the couple's lawyer, Meryl Governski, requested an extra protective order for "already non-public information."

The said information reportedly includes text messages with other "high-profile individuals." According to Governski during the hearing, per E News, leaking private text messages will have grave consequences for all involved because the discovery materials could identify "dozens and dozens of third parties" by name.

"There is a significant chance of irreparable harm if marginal conversations with high profile individuals with no relevance to the case were to fall into [the] wrong hands. There are 100 million reasons for these parties to leak information because the PR value is greater than complying with the court's orders."

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' attorney also requested the judge presiding over their case, US District Judge Lewis Liman, for further protection on sensitive information. She asked the judge that those details be available for "attorney eyes only," which means that no one within both parties can view the information except their lawyers.

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Justin Baldoni's lawyer opposed Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' request for more protective order

During the same Thursday hearing, Justin Baldoni's camp said that they don't agree with what Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds want. His primary attorney, Bryan Freedman, argued that it was "overboard and necessary" to request additional protective measures, claiming that there is "no intent of disclosing" any sensitive information from their team.

Freedman further accuses the Hollywood couple of trying to get preferential treatment, saying that they are asking for an additional protective order because "there is celebrity, because there are powerful people in the industry— somehow there is a different law that applies to them."

Meanwhile, Sigrid McCawley, the lawyer representing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' publicist, Leslie Sloane, who was named in Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit, agreed with Governski that extra protective measures are necessary. She said that disclosing such information can "cause business harm" if competitors can get access to it, adding:

"There is sensitive information to protect, including trade secrets, marketing plans, and business strategies, [and] discussions regarding other clients and nonpublic projects."

However, Freedman didn't agree with those claims, saying that there are no trade secrets at risk, especially client-wise, because he claimed that PR agencies "advertise who they represent."

Justin Baldoni's attorney further claimed that their team has put in a great deal of effort in not name-dropping any third parties, but that they shouldn't be put in a position where they have to run to court "every single time." He said that that would be the case if information is given "attorney's eyes only protection."

Freedman further asserts that his client has a right to defend himself. Judge Liman did not give a decision by the end of the hearing. Instead, he said that he would review the arguments from both parties and that the decision would be given at a later date.

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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are expected to go to court in March 2026 regarding the former's s*xual harassment case, and the latter's defamation case.