Justin Baldoni's attorney accused of LEAKING Blake Lively's deposition details to press; actress' lawyers seek sanctions, transcripts stricken off from record

Time of India

2 days ago

The legal battle between Blake Lively and
Justin Baldoni
is heating up with the actress' attorneys accusing the director's legal team of 'leaking' information.
Lively's legal team on Monday, filed a motion seeking sanctions against Baldoni's lead counsel, Bryan Freedman, for allegedly violating court orders and engaging in what they described as a 'pre-trial press tour' intended to undermine the actress's character.
The motion, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Freedman of repeatedly making inflammatory public statements in violation of a February order that required both parties to comply with the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, and prohibited them from attacking the other's character with the intent to influence legal proceedings.
Lively's Team Files A Motion
According to the motion, as reported by Deadline and Varitey, Freedman "almost immediately" violated the court's directive by launching 'biased and inflammatory pre-trial indictments of Ms.
Lively's character, credibility and reputation' across various media platforms.
The filing cites several interviews Freedman gave to outlets including TMZ, People, and The Megyn Kelly Show, in which he suggested, among other things, that Lively was 'afraid of the truth'.
Lively Trying to Seal Records?
Lively's deposition was conducted privately last Thursday, with only legal representatives and a court reporter present. However, the following day, Baldoni's team filed a motion in an unrelated discovery dispute and attached a sealed copy of Lively's 292-page deposition transcript as an exhibit.
Though the transcript remains sealed, Lively's lawyers argued that the move was a 'deliberate attempt' to force the deposition into the public domain. They also claimed that it was a move to compel Lively's team to request that the documents remain sealed', creating a doubt about her intentions to 'hide' information.
Planting A False Narrative
'The Wayfarer Defendants and their counsel hope to make Ms. Lively defend the continued sealing of the transcript so they can advance a false narrative that Ms.
Lively is afraid of her deposition testimony becoming public, which is entirely untrue and deeply harmful,' the motion states.
Lively's attorneys are requesting that the deposition transcript be "stricken from the court record" and that sanctions be imposed on Freedman for conduct they describe as a 'public relations stunt'.
About The Lawsuit
Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, his publicists, and Wayfarer Studios over alleged sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the film It Ends With Us. Meanwhile, Baldoni has denied all allegations, and filed countersuits to the tune of $400 million, which were dismissed earlier this year.
Baldoni and Lively are scheduled for a courtroom showdown when their trial begins in March 2026.