Blake Lively is taking legal action to obtain evidence to support her claims against Justin Baldoni regarding an alleged smear campaign. The actress previously accused her “It Ends With Us” co-star/director of sexual harassment, leading to a legal battle with both sides vigorously defending their positions.
Lively has issued subpoenas to cell carriers Cloudflare and AOL, as well as crisis consultant Jed Wallace, seeking relevant phone records to substantiate her allegations. Her lawyers, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, are determined to expose the tactics Baldoni allegedly used to tarnish her reputation.
In response, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, criticized Lively’s subpoenas as a “fishing expedition” to baseless claims. He claimed that the requested information would not validate her accusations, dismissing the actress’s efforts to gather evidence.
Shockingly, Lively included text messages in her lawsuit that she alleges demonstrate Baldoni’s orchestrated plan to damage her reputation. These messages were reportedly obtained from Baldoni’s former publicist, Jennifer Abel, who left due to alleged bullying.
Despite Baldoni’s denial of Lively’s accusations, he escalated the legal battle by amending his defamation suit against her to incorporate new evidence. Freedman claimed that the new proof revealed Lively’s alleged collusion to spread lies and manipulate communications to harm his reputation.
Additionally, Lively’s request for a gag order on Baldoni’s lawyer was denied by Judge Lewis Liman. Instead, the judge adopted Rule 3.6, prohibiting both parties from making extrajudicial statements that could prejudice the case. Liman emphasized the importance of ethical behavior and urged the parties to refrain from engaging in unnecessary public disputes.
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