Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni at theIt Ends with Uspremiere in New York City, August, 2024.Photo:Gotham/WireImage (2)
Gotham/WireImage (2)
Blake Lively’s legal team has issued a letter motion for conference inJustin Baldoni’s lawsuit. This follows Baldoni’s team releasingfootage from behind the scenes ofIt Ends with Us. In the letter to the court, Lively’s team alleges that his attorney’s public statements “continue the campaign of retaliation.”
The new filing further alleges that Freedman’s statements “not only continue the campaign of retaliation that was the subject ofMs. Lively’s First Cease and Desist, but they contain numerous new false statements about Ms. Lively and others.”
The filing goes on to name the video release andBaldoni’s planned websitethat will allegedly showcase all of his correspondence with Lively as examples, adding, “As Ms. Lively’s counsel have attempted, repeatedly, to caution Mr. Freedman, federal litigation must be conducted in court and according to the relevant rules of professional conduct."
Justin Baldoni in New York City on Dec. 13, 2023; Blake Lively in New York City on Oct. 28, 2024.Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Raymond Hall/GC Images
Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Raymond Hall/GC Images
Her complaint claimed that behind closed doors she has “suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety."
Baldoni filed a $250 millionlawsuit against TheNew York Timesfor alleged libel on Dec. 31, 2024, over its coverage of Lively’s complaint, claiming the publication used “‘cherry-picked’ and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead.”
Hethen sued Lively, her husbandRyan Reynoldsand their publicist Leslie Sloane for $400 million,claiming extortion and defamation.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni inIt Ends with Us(2024).Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
The actress-producer’s lawyers said in a statement shared with PEOPLE that “every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter,” what Lively included in her lawsuit about that scene.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively inIt Ends with Us(2024).Nicole Rivelli
Nicole Rivelli
Lively’s legal team’s statement went on to say that releasing thefootage to the media “is another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public."
“It is also a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign. While they are focused on misleading media narratives, we arefocused on the legal process. We are continuing our efforts to require Mr. Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts,” it concluded.
Baldoni’s team said in a statement, “The video from Bryan Freedman who has gone on record numerous times and told the public that Justin Baldoni and team has nothing to hide and this, once more proves this.”
“Justin and team have the right to defend themselves with the truth and this is what we will be continuing to show with the upcoming website containing all correspondence as well as relevant videos that quash her claims,” the statement added.
source: people.com
