Justin Baldoni’s Lawyer Slams Blake Lively’s Gag Order Request, Trial Set for March 2026

The war of words between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively is showing no sign of stopping.

Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman issued a fiery response to Lively’s claims that he is trying to taint the jury pool in their upcoming trial, notably by leaking information in an attempt to disprove the actress’ side of the story. 

“The irony continues to be rich for team Lively/Reynolds,” Freedman said Monday, January 27, in a statement to Us Weekly that referenced Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds. “Our intention with the upcoming website is to do the exact opposite of what they themselves did when they gave probably false information to the New York Times.” Freedman continued, “We will not be selective, we will not cherry pick and we will not doctor text messages. Both Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds do not yet understand that there isn’t one rule for them and one rule for everybody else.”

The lawyer concluded with an ominous message for the couple.

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“If they want to unethically gag the truth by threatening to wield their power in Hollywood, we will fight it every step of the way,” he stated Monday. “We are not scared of them, we will not be silenced by them. Defending ourselves is not retaliation, it is a human right.”

Freedman’s response came the same day that Judge Lewis J. Liman, who serves the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, set a date for Baldoni and Lively’s trial: March 9, 2026, if the costars don’t settle their legal battle beforehand. Meanwhile, a pre-trial hearing has been set for Monday, February 3, when the court will address Lively’s request for a gag order.

Earlier this month, Baldoni’s team revealed its plans to launch a website that will allegedly support his claims against Lively. They also released a video from the set showing the actors filming a romantic scene. While rolling, the pair could be heard speaking out of character, and the conversation has been an aspect of contention in the legal back and forth.

In response, Lively’s legal team slammed Baldoni and his team for choosing to publicly share the video.

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“Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement to Us on January 21, adding: “This matter is in active litigation in federal court. Releasing this video to the media, rather than presenting it as evidence in court, is another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public. It is also a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign. While they are focused on misleading media narratives, we are focused on the legal process. We are continuing our efforts to require Mr. Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts.”

Us Weekly then confirmed on January 22 that Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48, had filed a letter in court the previous day, seeking a protective order to stop Freedman from engaging in “improper conduct” such as an alleged “harassing and retaliatory media campaign” against the pair.

Lively and Reynolds claimed that Freedman is violating court rules that prevent a lawyer from addressing the press with statements that are not related to the case and might prejudice the jury, according to documents obtained by Us. The letter alleged that Lively previously issued Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios a cease-and-desist letter and a second one to Freedman in December 2024, the month when Lively accused Baldoni — her It Ends With Us costar and director — of sexual harassment in a lawsuit. Baldoni denied the allegations, and fired back by suing the Times, and filing a $4,000 countersuit against Lively, Reynolds and Lively’s former publicist Leslie Sloan.