Justin Baldoni's legal team plans to release all text messages between the actor and Blake Lively as they prepare to sue the actress

Justin Baldoni's legal team announced on January 3, 2024, that they intend to release all text message communications between the actor and actress Blake Lively as they proceed with a lawsuit against Lively.

Justin Baldoni's legal counsel, Bryan Freedman, confirmed in an interview with NBC News on January 2, 2025, that they plan to release text messages between Baldoni and actress Blake Lively as part of their strategy to address recent allegations. Also, when asked about the possibility of filing a counter-complaint against Lively, Freedman responded decisively:

"Absolutely, yes. We plan to release every single text messages between the two of them."

This announcement comes in response to a s*xual harassment lawsuit filed by Blake Lively against Baldoni on December 20, 2024. The actress submitted her complaint to the California Civil Rights Department, alleging misconduct during the filming of the romance drama It Ends With Us, released on August 9, 2024.

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Justin Baldoni's lawyers respond to Blake Lively's allegations

As mentioned, on Thursday, January 2, 2025, during an interview with NBC News, Bryan Freedman, attorney for Justin Baldoni, addressed the s*xual harassment allegations made by actress Blake Lively.

Furthermore, Freedman suggested the release of text message conversations between the two artists, stating that transparency would allow the public to make informed judgments.

"We want the truth to be out there. We want the documents to be out there. We want people to make their determination based on receipts," Freedman told NBC News.

According to People, the plaintiffs in the upcoming legal proceedings will include Justin Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios, his publicist Jennifer Abel, and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan.

The lawsuit is expected to name Blake Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and Baldoni's former publicist Stephanie Jones as defendants. Freedman did not specify a timeline for releasing the text messages or filing the lawsuit against Lively. Thus, the details of these legal steps remain unknown.

This legal battle follows the initial filing of a lawsuit by Blake Lively on December 20, 2024. Lively accused Baldoni of s*xual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and lost wages.

Speaking to Us Weekly on December 21, 2024, Lively stated her intent to expose harmful practices in the industry:

"I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,"

Adding further complexity to the case, Justin Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times on December 31, 2024, accusing the publication of libel and invasion of privacy. Baldoni's lawsuit alleges that The New York Times falsely reported on Lively's accusations.

In response, The New York Times told Us Weekly that its article was "meticulously and responsibly reported," noting that it had reviewed "thousands of pages of original documents" and text messages before publication.

"To address some inaccuracies in the lawsuit, when seeking comments from Mr. Baldoni and others who would be mentioned in the article, The Times shared the information that we intended to publish," the publication further stated.

Blake Lively has not issued a public response to Baldoni's legal team's latest statements at the time of writing.