Blake Lively Fights Back Against Justin Baldoni’s Alleged Retaliatory Smear Campaign After Gag Order Request

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’s legal battle against Justin Baldoni intensified amid the PR war as the couple pushed for a gag order. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Updated on Jan 25, 2025 | 04:14 PM IST | 79K

CC: Instagram

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have taken their ongoing defamation battle against It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni to the next level by demanding a gag order, citing allegations that the lawyer for the defendant has made defamatory public statements about the plaintiffs.

The attorney for the couple, Esra Hudson, filed a letter with Judge Lewis J. Liman to explain how forcing legal professionals to abide by ethics does not amount to a gag order but is only a means for upholding judicial proceedings as balanced and fair.

According to Deadline, Hudson stated in the four-page correspondence filed in New York federal court, "The Wayfarer Parties are attempting to draw a dangerous false equivalence that may have profound consequences not just for this case, but for other women who are sexually harassed in the workplace given the high profile of this matter."

The lawsuit was filed following the dismissal of the couple’s demand of January 22 for a gag order by Baldoni's attorney, who claimed, "The Lively Parties now invoke attorney disciplinary rules as an intimidation tactic."

Baldoni's lawyer responded to the previous gag order request over an It Ends With Us behind-the-scenes video release by saying it is "grossly unfair to impose a gag order after Justin has been defamed by the New York Times in an article that they say has cost him three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars. All Justin wants to do is release videos and text messages to prove the allegations are false."

The actor's legal team also insisted that Baldoni and his cohorts have suffered devastating reputational harm, job loss, and financial damages from Lively's allegations. He further likened it to an orchestrated media attack with past Hollywood celebrities' high-profile disputes.

As of now, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Justin Baldoni have not received a date for a legal hearing on the requested protective order.