Justin Baldoni Calls Blake Lively & Ryan Reynold’s Gag Order Request ‘An Intimidation Tactic’

by

Justin Baldoni has publicly criticized the alleged attempt by Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds to silence his attorney, labeling it as merely an intimidation tactic.

What did Baldoni say about the requested gag order?

On Thursday (via THR), Baldoni’s legal team and associates published a statement explaining their reason for sharing videos from the set of It Ends With Us. They deemed these videos crucial in defending Baldoni against sexual harassment accusations made by Lively. Regarding the gag order, they viewed any attempt to impose it as an attempt at intimidation, which they found utterly unacceptable.

The letter asserts that “The Lively Parties, who have published accusations that could be shown to be untrue, are now using legal professional conduct rules in an attempt to bully their opponents.” It further states that “Trying to make the Wayfarer Parties deal with allegations made openly in private is not acceptable for a gag order. This is simply a manipulative strategy, and it’s reprehensible.

Lively’s team has requested a “gag order” that would prohibit attorney Bryan Freedman, who represents Baldoni, from disclosing information related to the ongoing case. This request stems from the belief that Baldoni’s legal team is persistently trying to tarnish Lively’s reputation in the media. Last week, Baldoni’s team had previously withheld a series of videos about “It Ends With Us.

According to the source, what Justin aims to accomplish is making public videos and messages to disprove the accusations as baseless. The source finds it hard to believe that Blake Lively would initiate an attack against Justin and subsequently demand a court order preventing him from responding to these allegations.

Baldoni’s video alleges that Lively lied about complaint

The video was provided by Baldoni’s legal team, who shared some exclusive backstage clips from the making of It Ends With Us. In these clips, you can see Baldoni and Lively dancing for one of the movie scenes.

In the video, the duo engages in conversation, exchanging jokes on whether they speak while dancing with their partners and making light-hearted comments about Baldoni’s nose size. The significance of this video, as stated by Baldoni’s legal team, lies in Blake Lively’s initial allegations of sexual harassment against the filmmaker.

As per Lively’s allegations, during a scene where they were slow dancing, Baldoni deviated from his character and reportedly commented on Lively’s appearance and scent in a manner inconsistent with the storyline and irrelevant to the movie. However, Baldoni’s legal team asserts that the video contradicts these accusations, potentially disproving some of Lively’s statements. The extent of the released footage is uncertain, and it remains unclear if additional footage exists that could verify Baldoni’s actions as described by Lively.

Lively’s complaint alleges that Baldoni created a hostile work environment

The legal action arises from a formal grievance that Blake Lively lodged against Baldoni last month. In this complaint, she alleged that conditions on the set of It Ends With Us became intolerable, leading to a meeting being convened to address her accusations of a hostile work environment. During this meeting, Lively requested that Baldoni cease displaying nude videos or images of women, stop discussing his pornography addiction with her, refrain from detailing sexual experiences in her presence, and also desist from commenting on Lively’s weight.

The complaint further alleges that Wayfarer Studios and the cast had agreed to emphasize the portrayal of Lively’s character’s strength and resilience rather than framing the movie as a depiction of domestic violence in its promotion. Contrarily, Lively contends that Baldoni went back on this agreement by discussing the film’s heavy theme in interviews instead.

According to Lively’s statement, it was alleged that Baldoni and his public relations manager, Melissa Nathan, brainstormed strategies for a social media smear campaign intended to damage Lively’s reputation. The documentation submitted by Lively contains approximately 22 pages of text messages between Baldoni’s PR representative and Nathan, where they express the desire to see Lively “discredited.

Read More

2025-01-25 01:10