Justin Baldoni’s legal team thinks Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are playing the celebrity card in their legal battle.

A hearing was held on Thursday about Lively’s request for a stronger protective order in the case, which stems from It Ends With Us workplace allegations. Her request was based on threatening messages she and other parties allegedly received about the case.

Lively’s legal team requested to have certain discovery material categorized as "Attorney’s Eyes Only," limiting what’s made public, given the nature of the case, personally and professionally — from Lively’s medical records to business trade secrets. That includes text messages to high-profile individuals that may not be directly related to the case.

Lively's attorney, Meryl Governski, made their argument, saying her client’s “health and mental health records … have no business being publicly [shared].” She said there is no way to “unring the bell if this information is released publicly.”

The attorney said that the way the case has played out so far, amid accusations that Baldoni waged a smear campaign against Lively for accusing him of sexual harassment, there “are 100 million reasons for these parties to leak information because the PR value is greater than complying with the court’s orders.”

The lawyer said they “want to ensure that we're able to protect our client's information — and not just take [Baldoni attorney Bryan Freedman's] word for it that he would hold it in good faith.”

She said protecting texts especially was crucial. Among the adjacent players in this case are such celebrities as Taylor Swift.

“There is a significant chance of irreparable harm if marginal conversations with high profile individuals with no relevance to the case were to fall into wrong hands,” the attorney told the court.

Judge Lewis J. Liman, of the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, told Lively's attorney, "There is a huge amount of information that is of PR value ... that will, if the case goes forward, become public. So a lot of what you were talking about is just inherent in the nature of the case. If you sue a high profile person in this industry as to which there's a lot of attention paid, it's going to get picked up by the press."

Freedman argued for Baldoni that the existing protective order they all agreed to should be sufficient. “It completely protects the parties,” he said, and he agreed that Lively’s health records should be “confidential. We have no intention of violating the court’s order… We aren’t disclosing anything to the public.”

Freedman suggested the order went beyond the scope of what was necessary because A-listers are involved.

"It feels like what the other sides are asking for is that because there is celebrity, because there are people who are powerful people in the industry, that somehow they get treated differently, and somehow there's a different law that applies to them” that wouldn’t to everyday people.

Freedman said, "We think the [current] order protects all of the parties, and frankly, we see no difference because someone is a celebrity."

Lively and Reynolds’ security detail was also a topic — and keeping information about that private.

Freedman said that “no one is interested in what somebody's security is doing… It’s not even remotely relevant to the case.” He said that the rules “should be no different than for any other case.”

Liman said he would take it all under advisement and would provide a ruling at a future date.

Amidst her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively has hired a crisis PR manager with “deep government ties,” Variety reported on Friday.

According to the outlet, Lively has enlisted the help of Nick Shapiro, the CIA’s former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to former director John Brennan.

A spokesperson for Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the law firm representing Lively, said in a statement, “The litigation team for Ms. Lively retained Mr. Shapiro to advise on the legal communications strategy for the ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit occurring in the Southern District of New York.”

Shapiro is the founder and CEO of the PR firm 10th Avenue Consulting, which he launched in 2015 following a long career in the federal government. According to his LinkedIn, Shapiro “has more than 20 years of crisis management, national security and strategic communications experience in the White House, at the CIA and in the private sector.”

Lawyers for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are clashing — yet again — over what case details should remain private as their legal battle continues.

Days after Lively's attorneys filed a request for an "Attorney's Eyes Only" protective order last week, arguing that the high-profile nature of the case and allegations of sexual harassment could lead to "threats" and "possible witness intimidation," Baldoni's legal team is biting back.

On Feb. 25, Baldoni’s attorneys filed a letter to the court questioning why Lively is pushing for privacy.

"Given how actively the Lively Parties have publicized and litigated Ms. Lively’s claims in the media, we are surprised to now learn how vehemently she wants to prevent the public from accessing material and relevant evidence," they wrote in the letter, according to People.

Baldoni’s attorneys went on to argue that Lively’s amended complaint already made many details public and claimed she lacks a "good faith" belief that further disclosure "would unnecessarily violate [her] privacy rights."

Lively’s lawyers pushed back the same day in a letter of their own, stating that Baldoni’s opposition relies on the false claim that she is trying to suppress evidence.

"Certain online content creators who frequently parrot the Wayfarer Parties’ line ... have used similar misleading accusations," they wrote, according to a People magazine report, adding that this "manufactured echo chamber" they say has been fueled by Baldoni's legal team justifies the need for stronger privacy protections.

Blake Lively is calling out the Hollywood Reporter over a recent story that depicts her as the biblical David wielding a smartphone-loaded slingshot against Justin Baldoni’s Goliath.

“The Hollywood Reporter should be ashamed of itself,” a spokesperson for the actress told the Daily Mail Friday. “The framing in this picture is outrageously insulting as it plays into every sexist trope about women who dare file a workplace complaint, turning them into the aggressor, and suggesting they deserve the retaliation that comes their way.”

The story in question explored Baldoni’s Baha’i faith and its possible influence on the escalating legal battle between him and Lively.

However, Lively’s team took issue with how the piece frames the allegations, stating that “the story is extremely offensive as it incredibly seems to explain away documented examples of sexual harassment and retaliation by calling them ‘cultural misunderstandings.'”

Blake Lively is seeking additional legal protections in her ongoing battle with Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director in It Ends With Us.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, attorneys for Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, submitted a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman in the Southern District of New York requesting a stronger protective order, beyond the court’s standard model.

According to People, their proposed protective order includes an “Attorney’s Eyes Only” category for highly sensitive information, arguing that revealing certain materials could cause "competitive, business, commercial, financial, personal or privacy injury."

Lively’s lawyers went on to cite her recently filed amended complaint as justification for the request.

"As detailed in Ms. Lively’s Amended Complaint, Ms. Lively, her family, other members of the cast, various fact witnesses, and individuals that have spoken out publicly in support of Ms. Lively have received violent, profane, sexist, and threatening communications," the letter states.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds's longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, is seeking to be removed from Justin Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit, arguing that she was unfairly “dragged” into the legal battle.

In a motion filed Feb. 20 in New York federal court, Sloane’s attorney, Sigrid McCawley, claimed that Baldoni’s lawsuit is a “smoke and mirrors exercise” meant to distract from Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims against him. The filing argues that Baldoni has no “basis” for accusing Sloane of planting “malicious stories” or leading a “smear campaign.”

Sloane’s legal team also rejected Baldoni’s extortion allegations, stating that his lawyers have failed to “identify where or how the alleged extortion occurred” or show that Sloane “received anything of value” as a result.

The motion also defends Lively, pushing back against Baldoni’s claim that the lawsuit stems from a creative dispute over It Ends With Us. “When Ms. Lively bravely spoke up about Baldoni’s predatory behavior, he and his team used every weapon in their arsenal to blame, embarrass, and silence her," Sloane’s attorneys argue.

Baldoni’s lawsuit accuses Sloane of orchestrating a “character assassination plot” and a “smear campaign” against him at Lively’s direction. His amended complaint — which his legal team publicly posted online — includes an alleged text from Sloane to a Daily Mail reporter on Aug. 8, stating, “They are panicking as the whole cast hates him.”

However, Sloane’s attorneys argue that the message is a statement of opinion and does not constitute defamation.

McCawley’s filing also directly calls out Baldoni’s public image: “Justin Baldoni has spent years profiting off the feminist and #MeToo movements," the motion states. "His conduct in this dispute is therefore sheer hypocrisy, beginning with his egregious sexual harassment of multiple employees, and continuing with his ongoing campaign to discredit and blame his victims and punish anyone who speaks out against him.”

In a resurfaced interview, Justin Baldoni opened up about Taylor Swift's involvement in casting Isabela Ferrer, who plays the younger version of Blake Lively's character in It Ends With Us.

"I was casting and I ... had brought in and showed [Ferrer's] casting tape to Blake and Taylor, and they were both like, 'Yes, her!' And that's a true story," he said about Swift’s influence.

When asked how the production secured one of Swift’s songs for the film, Baldoni responded, "I had nothing to do with it; I mean this was all Blake. Like I said, Blake was involved in all aspects of this production, and she is also a marketing genius."

In a separate interview at the film’s New York City premiere in August 2024, Ferrer also acknowledged Swift’s involvement: "She was a helpful part of the process of the audition, which I found out later after I got it, and that rocked my world," Ferrer told a reporter.

The statements appear to contradict a recent Us Weekly report, citing sources that claimed Swift "was not a producer on the film and had no creative involvement."

An amended complaint filed this week by Blake Lively’s attorneys argues that texts from her husband, Ryan Reynolds, prove she and her publicist, Leslie Sloane, deliberately remained silent despite speculation about on-set tensions with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.

"Ms. Lively expressly instructed her publicist, Leslie Sloane, not to engage with press inquiries, including ones regarding the on-set behavior of Mr. Baldoni, Mr. Heath, or Wayfarer," her lawyers state. "In other words, Ms. Lively’s instructions to her publicist were the opposite of a smear or exposing him, even while she believed he was behind the attacks on her."

One text from Reynolds to Sloane, dated Aug. 29, 2024, reads:

"Thanks for sending. It's imperative we stay silent on everything and speak to nobody. As I mentioned in Denmark before Blake's premiere to not talk to ANYONE about any of these attacks on Blake. Just making sure you haven't done that at any point?"

Sloane responded, "I have not per your instructions."

The complaint also details the toll the lawsuit has taken on Lively and her family.

"The emotional impact on Ms. Lively has been extreme, not only affecting her, but her family, including her husband and four children," the complaint states, before adding that Reynolds has also been affected "mentally, physically, and professionally."

Ryan Reynolds’s SNL 50 joke about his legal battle with It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni was reportedly his own idea, according to the show’s longtime cue card handler.

During the anniversary special on Sunday, Reynolds quipped, “Great! Why? What have you heard?” when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler asked how he was doing.

The joke quickly drew criticism from Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, who told Hot Mics podcast host Billy Bush the next day, “I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation.”

However, in an interview with Australian radio show Fifi, Fev & Nick this week, veteran SNL cue card handler Wally Feresten revealed that Reynolds swapped in the line himself.

“He had a different line in rehearsal, and he pitched that [line] to replace it,” Feresten said. “That was his idea to do it. We wouldn’t want to do anything too controversial unless they were in on it. So yeah, that was his line. That was his idea to do.”

Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, is pushing back against Blake Lively’s amended lawsuit, saying it lacks hard evidence to support her allegations.

Speaking to TMZ, Freedman called the filing "underwhelming" and dismissed it as "filled with unsubstantial hearsay of unnamed persons who are clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims."

Freedman also noted that his clients, Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, have been transparent in "providing receipts, real-time documents and video showing a completely different story than what has been manipulated and cherry-picked to the media."

Lively’s latest filing alleges that two other women on set were uncomfortable with Baldoni’s behavior. She said both women are willing to testify and provide supporting documents in court.

Freedman, however, remains unfazed.

"Since documents do not lie and people do, the upcoming depositions of those who initially supported Ms. Lively’s false claims and those who are witnesses to her own behavior will be enlightening," he told TMZ. "What is truly uncomfortable here is Ms. Lively’s lack of actual evidence."

New allegations in Blake Lively’s amended lawsuit claim that Wayfarer Studios co-founder and billionaire Steve Sarowitz backed an effort to "socially manipulate" and "destroy" Lively’s reputation.

According to the complaint, a witness overheard Sarowitz at the New York premiere of It Ends With Us on Aug. 6 declaring that he was "prepared to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family."

Later that month, Sarowitz allegedly told another witness that if Lively or her husband, Ryan Reynolds, "ever cross the line, ever, then I will go after them."

"I will protect the studio like Israel protected itself from Hamas," Sarowitz said, according to the complaint. "There were 39,000 dead bodies. There will be two dead bodies when I’m done. Minimum. Not dead, but ‘you’re dead to me.’ So that kind of dead. But dead to a lot of people. If they ever get me to that point. Then I’ll make it worth their while. Because I’m gonna spend a lot of money to make sure the studio is protected."

In her amended lawsuit, Blake Lively says she had multiple conversations with two other female cast members on the set of It Ends With Us, both of whom allegedly expressed discomfort over Justin Baldoni and co-producer Jamey Heath's behavior.

Lively says that she filed a formal complaint with Sony on May 26, 2023, about the alleged misconduct. A few days later, another female cast member submitted her own complaint, prompting Sony to escalate the concerns to Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni's production company.

According to the lawsuit, Baldoni responded to the female cast member in writing, stating firmly that "adjustments would be made." However, Lively alleges in the complaint that Wayfarer took no action to investigate or implement protections.

By June 8, 2023, the same female cast member allegedly told Lively that she was increasingly concerned about the conditions on set, adding that she found it "difficult" to speak with Baldoni.

"I know I find it really hard to speak to him," Lively responded, per the complaint. "I try to cover it with busyness but not sure that covers what's going on."

Later, another female cast member also confided in Lively, saying she felt uncomfortable on set.

When production resumed following a months-long delay due to the Hollywood guild strikes, Lively says she reassured a female cast member about a list of protections that Wayfarer Studios and Sony had agreed to before filming restarted.

"You don't need to hug anyone," Lively told the cast member, according to the complaint. The actress allegedly responded with gratitude.

Lively went on to add that Baldoni "won't touch you. Or shouldn't. I don't think he or Jamey [Heath] will," expressing her belief that the environment would be "a professional set and we're getting good work."

During the Hollywood guild strikes, which paused production for several months, Blake Lively texted a female cast member, admitting she was "dreading going back" to filming It Ends with Us, due to what she called inappropriate behavior on set.

"I keep getting hits of the experience in really upsetting ways," Lively wrote, according to the complaint. The unidentified female cast member allegedly "expressed empathy" and "confirmed similar feelings."

In her amended complaint, Blake Lively says she had multiple conversations with mutual friends, as well as female cast members, about Justin Baldoni and co-producer Jamey Heath's alleged inappropriate behavior on the set of It Ends With Us.

According to the complaint, Lively messaged a woman on May 24, 2023, she described as a "mutual friend" of Baldoni and Heath, rescinding an invitation to visit the set due to her concerns.

"I was gonna invite you to set tomorrow. These people. Whoa... It's like HR nuts today," Lively wrote, according to the complaint. "The both of them. I wasn't expecting that turn. I mean it's been present but today I came home and cried."

Later in the exchange, Lively described Baldoni and Heath as "creeps," adding: "Like, keep your hormones to yourselves. This is not mine. I don't want it. I don't want your gaze or words or tongue or videos of your naked wife. Yeah. It's shocking. Clowns."

In her amended complaint, Blake Lively reiterates that she provided Sony, Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios with a "list of protections" in the fall of 2023.

According to the new filing, Lively’s attorneys push back against Baldoni’s claims that her requests were about creative control, calling such allegations "absurd" and "unsupported by a shred of evidence." They argue that her demands were "designed to ensure the safety and well-being of the cast and crew."

"The notion that she did all of this as some sort of byzantine plot to 'take control of the movie' at some future point, which she did not do in any event, is absurd, and there is not a shred of evidence to support it," her attorneys state in the complaint.

In November 2023, all parties agreed to implement the protections, which included providing an intimacy coordinator for Lively, a closed set for intimate scenes and an "all-hands" meeting before resuming production, which took place in New York City on Jan. 4, 2024.

As detailed in both her initial and amended complaint, the meeting was attended by Baldoni, Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, co-producer Jamey Heath, a Sony representative and other producers.

During the Jan. 4 meeting, Lively confronted Baldoni and Heath over their alleged "inappropriate conduct" on set and cited explicit directives she demanded, including: "No showing nude videos or images of women," "No more descriptions of their own genitalia to [Lively]," "No more jokes or disparaging comments to be made to BL and/or her employees," among others.

Blake Lively has filed an amended complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, now alleging that his on-set behavior made at least two other female cast members feel “uncomfortable.”

The updated 163-page filing, submitted in New York federal court on Tuesday, builds on Lively’s initial lawsuit from December 2024, and includes detailed accounts of how Baldoni's conduct allegedly affected others on set.

According to the amended complaint, obtained by Yahoo Entertainment, Lively's attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, said that on May 26, 2023, Lively reported her concerns about Baldoni's and co-producer Jamey Heath's alleged inappropriate behavior to Sony representative Ange Giannetti.

Over the following three days, "another female cast member reported her own concerns" about Baldoni's and Heath's on-set behavior to Giannetti, prompting Sony to relay these issues to Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni's production company.

On June 1, 2023, Baldoni allegedly acknowledged these concerns in writing, stating that adjustments would be made. However, Lively says that Wayfarer “took no actions to investigate” the matter. By June 8, the same female cast member spoke to Lively about “growing concerns with the conditions on set."

“I know I find it really hard to speak to him," Lively allegedly replied to her female co-star. "I try to cover it with busyness but not sure that covers what’s going on."

According to the complaint, a second female cast member later confided in Lively about her own discomfort on set. All of their complaints were “documented in writing, almost one year before the editing of the Film began,” the filing states.

Although they were unnamed in Lively's complaint, her lawyers iterated in the filing that both female cast members are willing to testify against Baldoni in court.

Justin Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, is weighing in after Ryan Reynolds made a joke about the stars' ongoing legal battle.

"I'm unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation. I can't think of anyone who's done anything like that," Freedman said on the Hot Mics With Billy Bush podcast on Monday. "So it surprised me."

Freedman's remarks follow Reynolds and Blake Lively's appearance at Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary celebration in New York City on Sunday night. During a live segment with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Fey asked him, "Ryan Reynolds! How's it going?"

Reynolds quipped, "Great! Why, what have you heard?" as Lively sat beside him.

It was the first major appearance for Lively and Reynolds since she filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign to damage her reputation — claims Baldoni has denied. He later countersued for $400 million.

As for Baldoni, Freedman confirmed that the It Ends With Us director is in Hawaii with his family, seeking "some semblance of peace."

"Like anyone else who would be going through a situation where you're accused of something you did not do and are suffering in a public way, I think it's distressful, to say the least," he added.

Actor Brandon Sklenar is staying neutral in the legal battle between his It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

In a Monday appearance on CBS Mornings, the 1923 star was asked directly by co-host Gayle King, “Are you Team Blake or Team Justin?”

Sklenar, who played Lively’s childhood sweetheart in the film, laughed and responded, “I’m Team It Ends With Us.”

King also asked how he was navigating the tensions between his castmates, to which he replied, “I just want people to remember why we made the movie in the first place and what it stands for, and just keeping the focus on that.”

Sklenar, who previously showed support for Lively in December, after she filed her initial complaint against Baldoni for sexual harassment, went on to share a personal connection to the film’s themes.

“I have someone very close to me who’s gone through what [Lively’s character, Lily, is] going through for a long time, and I’ve been on the frontlines helping her navigate that space, so that movie meant a lot to me and it means a lot to her,” he explained. “It was one of the reasons that me doing that film gave her the strength to change her life. It’s unfortunate that things get taken away from what the ethos of that thing is and it gets convoluted.”

In photos published by TMZ on Monday, Justin Baldoni was spotted in Hawaii over the weekend, enjoying some surfing and spending time with his wife, Emily, and their two children.

Meanwhile, Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, made an appearance at Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary celebration in New York City.

Despite their contrasting weekend activities, the legal battle is far from over. Both Lively and Baldoni have declined mediation, signaling that a trial date set for March 2026 is increasingly likely.

Attorneys for Justin Baldoni are taking urgent steps to block subpoenas issued by Blake Lively’s legal team seeking his phone and internet records.

In a letter filed on Feb. 15, Lively’s lawyer Esra Hudson defended the subpoenas, arguing they are necessary to uncover a "retaliatory campaign" allegedly orchestrated against the actress.

“The requests are also tailored to key individuals and relevant time periods, may resolve core factual disputes, and are proportional,” Hudson wrote in the filing to U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, according to Deadline.

Baldoni’s attorney Michael Schuster fired back in a Feb. 18 letter, calling Lively’s legal team’s description of the subpoenas “flatly false.” He argued that the subpoenas are overly broad and could expose private communications beyond call logs.

“Instead, the Subpoenas seek ‘All Documents’ relating to the various phone numbers, which is a request of the broadest possible scope and clearly encompasses content as well as — as explicitly requested — location information,” Schuster wrote. “We respectfully reiterate our request that the Court quash the Subpoenas as promptly as possible."

The latest filings add another layer of tension to the ongoing legal battle. The case is currently set to go to trial in March 2026.