Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds want their texts with 'high-profile individuals' protected amid Justin Baldoni legal saga
The lawyer of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds said they're asking for an additional protective order for "already non-public information" conversations with other "high-profile individuals" amid their legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
According to E! News, Meryl Governski, in her argument during a virtual court hearing on March 6, said there's a "significant chance of irreparable harm if marginal conversations with high profile individuals with no relevance to the case were to fall into 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," Governski is quoted as saying.
She also requested United States District Judge Lewis Liman that other sensitive information in discovery be designated as "attorney eyes only." If so, information may only be viewed by the party's lawyer but not the party itself.
The request would cover information related to the "physical and mental health of the parties," "speaking about children," "locations of private residences or homes," "non-related third parties," and "personal and intimate conversations with unrelated third parties," according to E! News.
Sigrid McCawley, the lawyer of Lively and Reynolds's publicist Leslie Sloane, echoed Governski, saying her client would be forced to disclose information that could be accessed by her competitors and "cause business harm."
Sloane, who leads the firm Vision PR, is included in Baldoni's $400 million (PhP23.4 billion) lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds.
"There is sensitive information to protect, including trade secrets, marketing plans and business strategies, discussions regarding other clients and nonpublic projects," McCawley said of Vision PR. "This is a feud between PR firms … trade secrets and confidential information."
Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman, meanwhile, said the additional protective order sought by Governski was "overboard and unnecessary."
Freedman said his team has "no intent of disclosing" any confidential information.
He claimed Lively's team was asking for the order because they are "powerful people in the industry—somehow there is a different law that applies to them."
Responding to McCawley, he noted that there are no trade secrets at risk, as PR agencies "advertise who they represent."
Freedman assured everyone that his team has gone "great lengths to not mention third parties by name."
"We shouldn't be put in a position where we are the ones that have to run to court every single time just given attorney's eyes only protection," Freedman said. "My client has a right to defend themself."
Judge Liman has yet to issue a decision as he's still reviewing each party's argument, according to E! News.
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."
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."
In his $400 million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds, Baldoni 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 the film in an attempt to debunk Lively's sexual harassment allegations against him.
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."
