Justin Baldoni's lawyers say Blake Lively wants to 'prevent the public' from accessing evidence in legal drama
The lawyers of Justin Baldoni claimed that Blake Lively wants to "prevent the public" from accessing evidence after she requested the court for a stronger protective order that puts certain information under "Attorney's Eyes Only" during discovery.
"Given how actively the Lively Parties have publicized and litigated Ms. Lively’s claims in the media, we are surprised to now learn how vehemently she wants to prevent the public from accessing material and relevant evidence," Baldoni's lawyers said in a statement, according to PEOPLE Magazine.
They said they're fine with the court's suggested protective order, but Lively's proposal was "not warranted."
"Ms. Lively has already publicized the alleged details of the so-called 'harassment' in her Amended Complaint," the lawyers said. "Therefore, Ms. Lively lacks a 'good faith' belief that there is any information of such a 'personally sensitive nature' that disclosure thereof to the parties 'would unnecessarily violate [her] privacy rights[.]'"
Lively's camp, meanwhile, responded to Baldoni's lawyers reacting to her court request, arguing that they rely on the concept that she intends to suppress evidence.
"Certain online content creators who frequently parrot the Wayfarer Parties’ line... have used similar misleading accusations," her lawyers said. "The travels of the mischaracterization embraced by the Opposition through this manufactured echo chamber, by itself, provides ample justification for a Protective Order that establishes adequate protections for third-party privacy interests."
E! News reported that the stronger protective order Lively is seeking would only apply 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."
Her camp argued that the "case involving high-profile individuals and allegations of sexual harassment" called for heightened privacy. If certain details were made public, it could mean "exposing them to threats" and "possible witness intimidation," according to Lively's lawyers.
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, the 2024 romantic drama starring her and Baldoni, who was also the director. 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 New York Times then published a report titled 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine. The report used excerpts from alleged text messages and emails that Lively obtained through a subpoena and detailed the work of crisis management firm TAG PR for Baldoni, including allegedly planting negative stories in the media.
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."
Baldoni also filed a $400 million (PhP23.4 billion) lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
He accused her of hijacking the production of It Ends with Us and that she defamed him. He also accused her and Reynolds of extorting him.
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."
