Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been entangled in a heated legal battle since December 2024.
The federal judge rejected the subpoena issued by Lively’s team. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
The ever-growing legal feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni amid their sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuits has now taken a new turn, with a court rejecting Lively’s “overly intrusive” request for her It Ends With Us co-actor and director’s phone records in the proceedings. Earlier, the actress’s legal team subpoenaed the recordings of Justin Baldoni and others named in her lawsuit over an alleged conspiracy to ruin Lively’s reputation. However, the request was rejected on Friday after US District Judge Lewis Liman found it to be violating their privacy.
“Even assuming additional individuals participated in the alleged campaign, the hope that discovery will turn up information on such participants does not justify the broad scope of the subpoenas,” the order stated as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter. Mentioning that the request includes legitimate privacy interests, the judge noted that the phone records could contain sensitive information. “Lively may make discovery requests tailored to those individuals. She is permitted to use the tools of discovery to identify the contact information or telephone numbers for those individuals,” Liman continued.
A spokesperson for the actress asserted that Baldoni, after being issued the subpoena “ran into court to keep certain phone records secret.” The statement added that their team will be able to get the records after submitting more specific requests. “Today we will do that. We are submitting those requests directly to the defendants involved, and we look forward to seeing the records,” it continued.
On the contrary, Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Baldoni claimed that the court had “put a stop to Blake Lively’s egregious attempt” to invade the actor-director’s privacy. He added that their “desperate fishing expedition” aimed to savage Baldoni. The subpoenas were issued earlier this month under the seal for information about incoming and outgoing calls or messages related to the numbers belonging to individuals ensnared in the 2022 litigation. Baldoni’s team, however, challenged the same.
The heated legal battle stems from Blake Lively’s detailed allegations of sexual harassment, emotional distress, negligence, and more against Justin Baldoni in a December 2024 lawsuit. The director, in his own filing, countersued Lively, insisting that the actress “falsely” accused him to repair her reputation. His team even claimed that Lively’s team had no evidence of the alleged smear campaign.
