Blake Lively’s latest legal request in her ongoing legal battle against her It Ends with Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni has been granted, marking one of her first major victories in the case.
The 37-year-old Gossip Girl star is suing Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment on set and for later allegedly orchestrating a “smear campaign” intended to destroy her reputation in the months following the film’s release. Baldoni, who denies the allegations, has filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
Lively recently submitted a request that certain discoveries made in the case be available for their “attorneys’ eyes only” to protect against any leaks of sensitive information.
“There is an insatiable appetite for any information about this case, no matter how benign it is,” Lively’s attorney, Meryl Governski, told New York Judge Lewis Liman during a telephone conference earlier this month. “The defendants have bragged in text messages about being able to publish information without fingerprints.”
Governski said one category of information that needs to be kept between lawyers related to medical information, including mental health, and that “personal and intimate conversations with unrelated third parties” must be kept out of the public eye because — while the public relations value would be high — the evidentiary value would be “virtually nonexistent.”
Liman went ahead and ruled in favor of Lively’s request on Thursday, agreeing that “highly personal and intimate information about third parties” will only be seen by lawyers. Not even Lively nor Baldoni will have access to the information, which includes details about the actors, such as medical records, trade secrets and security measures taken by each.
“The risk of disclosure is great,” Liman said of the potential for “gossip and innuendo” to spread if the sensitive information was somehow leaked.
While Baldoni’s lawyers did not object to certain material being kept from the press and public, they argued that being unable to share the findings with their clients would make it difficult to litigate the case and potentially lead both sides to raise additional legal arguments.
Liman limited the “attorneys’ eyes only” material to information that was “highly likely to cause a significant business, commercial, financial or privacy injury.” He noted that the confidentiality will speed up the discovery process.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Early last month, Baldoni’s legal team launched a website containing documents and text messages linked to the case. Lively later requested that certain material be categorized as “attorneys’ eyes only” after she said she received “violent, profane, sexist, and threatening communications” after speaking out.
Baldoni’s legal team then accused Lively of trying “to shield, from public view, documents and information exchanged herein” for the sake of her reputation.
“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,” Baldoni’s legal team wrote in a letter to the judge.
A trial date is set for May 29, 2026.
