Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ legal team requested a gag order be implemented against Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, after he released unedited “It Ends With Us” footage.
On Tuesday, the couple sent a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman asking him to prohibit Freedman from talking to the media, insisting that his comments could “taint the jury pool” should her sexual harassment case make it to court.
“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,” the letter states, per several outlets.
Lively and Reynolds’ counsel claim that Freedman “has given television interviews, appeared on podcasts, issued inflammatory written statements, and leaked information (including, remarkably, documents as banal as document preservation demands to third parties) to the Hollywood press and tabloid media” virtually “every day” since the “Gossip Girl” alum filed her complaint against Baldoni on Dec. 20.
The letter alleges that Freedman’s statements have been “deliberately aimed at undermining the ‘character, credibility, [and] reputation’ of numerous relevant parties.”
Along with continuing “the campaign of retaliation” alleged in Lively’s original cease-and-desist, they claim his statements also “contain numerous new false statements about Ms. Lively and others.”
The motion included several examples of Freedman’s alleged misconduct — such as the newly released video footage and plans to launch a website meant to “directly quash” Lively’s allegations.
While Lively’s counsel argues that Freedman’s behavior violates New York State’s Rules of Professional Conduct regarding trial publicity, he insists that Baldoni and his team “have the right to defend themselves with the truth.”
Freedman did not immediately reply to Page Six’s request for comment.
The motion came less than one day after Baldoni’s legal team released behind-the-scenes footage of the co-stars filming a slow-dance scene mentioned in Lively’s lawsuit.
While Baldoni’s team claims the 10 minutes of raw footage “refutes Ms. Lively’s characterization of his behavior” — her team insists it is “damning evidence” and “corroborates” her allegations of sexual harassment.
The “Simple Favor” star sued Baldoni and his associates in December, claiming the “Jane the Virgin” alum sexually harassed her on set and exhibited “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior.
She also alleged that he and his PR team orchestrated a retaliatory smear campaign against her.
However, Baldoni has denied the allegations and levied his own $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times for running Lively’s complaint with allegedly “cherry-picked” information.
He followed up that lawsuit by suing Lively, Reynolds and their publicist, Leslie Sloan, for $400 million, claiming defamation and extortion.
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