Justin Baldoni claims Blake Lively is trying to ‘shield' public from evidence amid legal battle

Independent

26-02-2025

Justin Baldoni has claimed that Blake Lively is hiding evidence for the sake of her reputation, amid the legal battle.
In a letter sent to a judge on Tuesday and obtained by Page Six, Baldoni's legal team accused Lively of trying 'to shield, from public view, documents and information exchanged herein,' after she asked for an enhanced protective order. The document comes amid the actors' ongoing legal battle after Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and alleged he started a campaign to 'destroy' her reputation.
'Given how actively the Lively Parties have publicized and litigated Ms. Lively's claims in the media, we are surprised to now learn how vehemently she wants to prevent the public from accessing material and relevant evidence,' the new letter reads.
The document alleged that the Gossip Girl star and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, gave an 'otherwise confidential administrative complaint' to The New York Times when she first filed her lawsuit in December.
Baldoni also accused her of sharing 'thousands of pages of original documents, including text messages and emails,' which were also allegedly confidential.
'Ms. Lively's counsel and 'spokesperson' routinely attempt to rehabilitate her tarnished image with bold statements to the press, such as characterizing the Wayfarer Parties' Complaint as 'another chapter in the abuse playbook,'' the letter continued, referring to Baldoni's production company.
Last week, Lively asked a judge for a stronger protective order than the court's 'model' one, after receiving 'violent' messages amid her and Baldoni's legal battle.
'As detailed in Ms. Lively's Amended Complaint, Ms. Lively, her family, other members of the cast, various fact witnesses, and individuals that have spoken out publicly in support of Ms. Lively have received violent, profane, sexist, and threatening communications,' the new letter, which was obtained by E! News, stated.
In addition, the actor's team asked for certain material to be categorized as 'an Attorney's Eyes Only,' which would make those legal documents highly confidential.
Lively's request references the online backlash she faced last year, claiming it was 'so vicious that Meta publicly stated that 'kind of online harassment is wrong and we condemn it.'
Before that, Lively also filed an amended complaint, obtained by The Independent, where she expressed that the 'emotional impact' of the online scrutiny has been 'extreme' for her, Reynolds, and their four children — James, 10, Inez, eight, Betty, five, and Olin, two.
'There are days when she has struggled to get out of bed, and she frequently chooses not to venture outside in public,' the document reads. 'While she has fought to maintain her personal life and business interests, behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.'
The filing adds that Reynolds has 'been affected mentally, physically, and professionally by his wife's and children's pain.
'Worst of all, however, has been the impact on their young children, who have been traumatized and emotionally uprooted in ways that have substantially impacted their well-being.'
Rumors of a feud between Baldoni and Lively on the set of It Ends with Us — based on the Colleen Hoover book of the same name — started percolating online last year, as they appeared to avoid each other during the film's promotional tour. At the time, Lively was called out for a 'tone-deaf' approach to the movie, with fans claiming she failed to treat its heavy subject matter with the appropriate solemnity.
In the lawsuit against Baldoni, filed in December, Lively alleged that the backlash she received was part of a carefully orchestrated effort by Baldoni's PR team.