Justin Baldoni responds to Blake Lively’s gag order request

Justin Baldoni’s lawyer has responded to Blake Lively’s gag order request.

The actor and director’s legal team has spoken out against Blake Lively’s recent push for a gag order in their ongoing legal dispute. 

According to a letter obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, January 24, Baldoni’s attorney, Kevin Fritz, has formally requested that the judge deny the order if Lively’s team moves forward with it.

Fritz alleged that Lively, 37, initiated the public scrutiny surrounding the case by providing her original complaint—which included allegations against Baldoni, 41, and his production company, Wayfarer—to The New York Times.

“The results have been utterly calamitous for Mr. Baldoni and the other Wayfarer Parties, who instantly became objects of public scorn and contempt,” the letter stated. 

“Already, the Wayfarer Parties have been exiled from polite society and suffered damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars due to Ms. Lively’s scorched-earth media campaign.”

Fritz further argued that the move for a gag order was an attempt to intimidate Baldoni and his team, especially after they released unseen footage from It Ends With Us featuring Baldoni and Lively during a dance scene.

“The Lively Parties’ desire to force the Wayfarer Parties to defend themselves privately against allegations made publicly is not a proper basis for a gag order,” Fritz continued. “It is tactical gamesmanship, and it is outrageous.”

The legal battle between the two parties will take another step forward at a conference scheduled for February 12, where the gag order and other developments in the case are expected to be addressed.