Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds justify gag order post Justin Baldoni response

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds just clarified their request for a gag order against Justin Baldoni and his legal team amidst their It Ends With Us lawsuit.

As per Deadline, the A-list Hollywood couple penned a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman, stating that a protective order was crucial to prevent “extrajudicial statements” by Baldoni's legal team.

Representing the two, their attorney, Esra Hudson wrote, “Requiring counsel to heed the ethical rules that bind them is not a gag order; it is a mechanism that would ensure the proceedings in this Court are not prejudiced by counsel's conduct outside of the courtroom.”

“The Wayfarer Parties are attempting to draw a dangerous false equivalence that may have profound consequences not just for this case, but for other women who are sexually harassed in the workplace given the high profile of this matter,” the four-page letter further mentioned.

Supporting claims by Lively that Baldoni executed a “smear campaign” against her after they wrapped up filming for the movie, It Ends With Us, Hudson continued:

“Even more troubling, however, is that the retaliation campaign that Ms. Lively alleged in her Complaint, with substantial supporting documentation, includes highly destructive behind-the-scenes elements, including the regular engagement of [Baldoni's crisis PR chief] Melissa Nathan with her vast tabloid media sources to influence a steady stream of negative media regarding Ms. Lively, as well as a sophisticated and 'untraceable' digital social media manipulation campaign designed to impact social media algorithms against Ms. Lively.”

“The Lively-Reynolds Parties are informed and believe that these efforts have continued unabated since the CRD Complaint was filed, and may have even been accelerated. The administration of justice in this case will be severely compromised if this behavior continues,” the letter concluded.

This response from Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ team comes after they requested a gag order be issued against Justin Baldoni and his legal team, alleging them of “harassing” and running a “retaliatory media campaign” against the couple.

The request for a protective order was dubbed as an “intimidation tactic” by Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Kevin Fritz.