Blake Lively asks for stronger protective order after getting 'violent' messages amid legal drama with Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively is seeking a stronger protective order amid her legal drama with her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni.

In a letter obtained by E! News, one of the requests is to allow the discovery of material to be classified under "Attorney’s Eyes Only," which means only a select few will be able to access such information.

According to the entertainment outlet, the category will only be applicable to material "of such a highly confidential and personal, sensitive, or proprietary nature that the revelation of such is likely to cause a competitive, business, commercial, financial, or privacy injury to the producing party."

Submitted on Feb. 20, the document names "high-profile individuals, to whom a duty of confidentiality is owed."

Another letter from Lively mentions the amended complaint she recently filed against Baldoni, which claims that Lively, her family, other members of the cast, various fact witnesses, and individuals who have publicly expressed support for the star "have received violent, profane, sexist, and threatening communications."

It likewise alleged that a fact witness in Wayfarer's complaint "received a written threat indicating that the witness’s family would be sexually assaulted and killed unless the witness agreed to ‘make a statement and give the truth.’"

The letter also claimed that Lively received negative remarks online that were "so vicious that Meta publicly stated that that ‘kind of online harassment is wrong and we condemn it.’"

The release of certain details, according to her camp, could lead to injury "by violating their privacy, exposing them to threats, and creating a climate of possible witness intimidation."

Ongoing legal battle

The legal saga of Lively and Baldoni stemmed from her filing a sexual harassment complaint against him and Jamey Heath of Wayfarer Studios, the producer of It Ends with Us. She also accused them of running a smear campaign against her.

In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni and Heath of telling her about their past sexual relationships and "previous porn addiction."

Heath also allegedly showed Lively a video of his wife naked and giving birth. 

Baldoni and Heath likewise supposedly entered Lively's makeup trailer without permission, "including when she was breastfeeding her infant child." 

Lively also recalled Baldoni claiming he could communicate with the dead, including her father, Ernie Lively. She found it "off-putting and violative." 

The Times then published its 'We Can Bury Anyone' report.

Baldoni's camp has called the accusations in the report "categorically false."

His lawyer Bryan Freedman said a crisis manager was hired ahead of the film's marketing campaign "due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production."

On Jan. 1, Baldoni filed a $250 million (PhP14.5 billion) lawsuit against the Times—plus 10 other plaintiffs, including publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel—for libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its report. 

The Times defended its article as "meticulously and responsibly reported." 

Later, Baldoni's camp released a series of video takes during the production of It Ends with Us in an attempt to debunk Lively's sexual harassment allegations against him. It also announced plans to launch a website containing "all correspondence" with her and "relevant videos."

Lively and Reynolds, in turn, requested a gag order.

On Feb. 3, Baldoni launched a website containing two documents: his $400 million 224-page amended complaint against Lively and Reynolds and a 168-page "timeline of relevant events," which included a compilation of screenshots as an additional exhibit to his amended complaint. It came two days before their first court hearing.

Last Feb. 14, Lively filed a subpoena for Baldoni's phone records, with her lawyers saying the information they're requesting could “provide critical and irrefutable evidence not only about who, but also about when, where, and how their retaliation plan came together and operated.”

On Feb. 19, Lively amended her complaint against Baldoni and Heath, saying she "was not alone" in experiencing on-set misconduct as saying two other actresses had their "own uncomfortable experiences" with the men.

Freedman said the amended complaint was “filled with unsubstantial hearsay” and had a “lack of actual evidence."