Blake Lively is currently embroiled in a high-profile legal dispute with Justin Baldoni. Lively’s legal team has pushed for Baldoni to provide comprehensive phone records, including call logs, texts, and data from the past two and a half years, regardless of the sender, recipient, or subject matter. This demand comes despite Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, previously claiming to possess “receipts” that would illustrate Lively as a “bully.” In response, Lively’s spokesperson challenged this assertion in a statement to People Magazine.
“Mr. Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties have already admitted that Ms. Lively raised concerns multiple times,” the spokesperson revealed. “They have admitted that they created a plan in case she ‘made her grievances public,’ in which they planned to plant stories suggesting Ms. Lively was a ‘bully’ and ‘weaponising feminism.’ They have admitted that they were able to ‘bury’ anyone,” the representative stated, shedding light on communications between Baldoni and his PR team.
The spokesperson further added, “They have admitted that they bragged and laughed at how negatively the narrative had shifted against Ms. Lively, and how successful they were at ‘confusing’ people.” The spokesperson noted the defendants conceded they saw a negative shift on social media, attributing it largely to the efforts of Jed Wallace, an independent contractor, yet they deny executing their alleged plan.
“Now they want to block the very discovery that would expose them,” Lively’s representative concluded. “If they didn’t do it, they would have nothing to hide.” This statement reflects the anger and frustration emanating from Lively’s camp as they pursue a crucial legal battle.
In defense of his client, Baldoni’s lawyer, Mitchell Schuster, argued against the extensive request from Lively’s legal team for years of communication records, calling the demand “broad, invasive, and atypical.” He emphasized the civil nature of the litigation, saying, “This is civil litigation, not a criminal prosecution, and the Lively Parties [Lively and Reynolds] are not the FBI.” Schuster claimed the requests are “wildly disproportionate” considering the case’s needs and encroach on the privacy of a multitude of third parties.
Schuster criticized Lively’s move as being more focused on gaining media attention than addressing the actual case, dubbing the subpoenas a “media ploy.” He urged U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman to resolve the matter “at the soonest possible opportunity,” indicating that the phone companies implicated in the case are gearing up to comply with the subpoenas.
This legal skirmish began back in December 2024 when Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni, alleging misconduct during the production of their collaborative film, It Ends with Us. Furthermore, she accused Baldoni and his associates of orchestrating a retaliatory smear campaign after she came forward with her allegations. Baldoni has vehemently denied all accusations against him.
The following month, Baldoni struck back with a staggering $400 million lawsuit targeting Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloan’s PR firm. The lawsuit includes various claims such as civil extortion and defamation, marking a substantial escalation in tensions between the parties involved.
As the legal conflicts intensify, the case is projected to go to trial on March 9, 2026. The outcomes will likely have significant implications for both Lively and Baldoni, potentially reshaping their public narratives and careers in an already turbulent industry atmosphere.
