Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have escalated their ongoing defamation lawsuit against It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni, demanding a gag order. This comes after they accused Baldoni’s lawyer of making defamatory public statements about them. The couple’s attorney, Esra Hudson, filed a letter with Judge Lewis J. Liman explaining that ensuring legal professionals adhere to ethical standards is not a gag order but rather a measure to maintain fairness and balance in the proceedings.
According to a report from Deadline, Hudson argued in the letter that Baldoni’s team was attempting to draw a “dangerous false equivalence” that could have serious consequences for this case and for other women facing workplace harassment, given the high-profile nature of the matter.
The legal battle started after Baldoni’s attorney opposed the Lively-Reynolds request for a gag order, accusing them of using attorney disciplinary rules as a form of intimidation. In response, Baldoni’s lawyer claimed that imposing a gag order was unfair, especially after Justin Baldoni’s reputation was allegedly harmed by a New York Times article, which the lawyer said cost him three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars. Baldoni’s team argued that the director only wanted to release videos and text messages to disprove the defamation claims.
Additionally, Baldoni’s legal team maintained that the director and his associates had suffered significant reputational damage, job losses, and financial harm due to Lively’s allegations. They compared the situation to high-profile Hollywood feuds and media battles in the past.
As of now, no date has been set for a hearing regarding the protective order requested by Lively and Reynolds.