Justin Baldoni's Lawyer Slams Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds SNL Cameo

Justin Baldoni’s lawyer is providing his take.

Following Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds‘ appearance at Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special on February 16, where Ryan subtly jested about their ongoing legal disputes with Baldoni, Bryan Freedman, lawyer for the director of ‘It Ends With Us’, shared his perspective on the cameo.

In a February 17th interview on Hot Mics with Billy Bush, Freedman stated that he cannot recall anyone whose spouse has experienced sexual harassment and made light of such situations. Frankly speaking, I can’t imagine anybody behaving in that way. It came as a surprise to me.

According to Freedman, Baldoni’s current extended stay in Hawaii with his family isn’t a traditional vacation. Instead, it’s the actor’s effort to find some sense of tranquility, as depicted by his role in “Jane The Virgin.

TopMob News has attempted to contact Reynolds and Lively’s representatives in response to Freedman’s latest remarks, but we haven’t received a reply as of now.

Absolutely, during the SNL 50: The Anniversary Special, Lively and Reynolds managed to find their own tranquility. This was their first red carpet event together since the legal matters between Lively and Baldoni in New York. Reynolds opted for a timeless tuxedo, while the ex-Gossip Girl star dazzled in a silver sequin dress.

During the broadcast, they popped up for a moment during a humorous Q&A session hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. When Reynolds put forward a question, the comedic pair enquired about his wellbeing. To this, the Deadpool actor replied, “I’m doing great. What’s the news?

With enthusiasm and a quick sense of humor, they seemed attentive to the joke, reacting appropriately with a pretended look of surprise before bursting out in laughter. As Reynolds carried on with his question, they played along, making light of the situation.

The couple’s evening together occurred as the events surrounding their legal teams with Baldoni escalated. In December, Lively submitted a civil rights claim, alleging retaliation following her report of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us. She later filed an official lawsuit that same month.

In response to the allegations in Lively’s lawsuit, Baldoni has taken legal action by filing a countersuit worth $400 million against Lively, Reynolds, and their PR representative. Additionally, he has initiated a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times over its coverage of the civil complaint, with the newspaper stating its intention to defend itself against these charges.

Keep reading to untangle every proceeding in the It Ends With Us stars’ unending legal saga…

Four months following the theater release of the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us”, Blake Lively lodged a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her costar Justin Baldoni and several associates on December 20, as reported by The New York Times.

In the complaint obtained by TopMob News, Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were named as defendants.

Lively claimed in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates initiated a “sophisticated press and digital plan” in retaliation for her expressing concerns about alleged misconduct on set, stating that she and other cast and crew members “experienced invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” from Baldoni and Heath.

The actress further stated that this alleged campaign against her caused significant harm to her personally and professionally. The charges listed in the complaint include sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent, and/or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy and interference with prospective economic advantage.

The following day, The New York Times released an article detailing a supposed counterattack smear strategy that Baldoni and his colleagues are said to have employed against Lively, referencing her CRD complaint. In their report, the newspaper shared messages from Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), and Nathan (crisis communications specialist), which were included in her complaint. Additionally, readers could access the related court documents on The New York Times‘s website. Lively expressed to the outlet that she hopes her legal action will expose these underhanded retaliatory tactics aimed at harming individuals who speak up about misconduct, and safeguard others who might be subjected to similar treatment.

Following the disclosure of Lively’s complaint, Bryan Freedman – legal representative for Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their associates – strongly refuted Lively’s allegations. In a statement posted on The New York Times website, he stated:

“It’s regrettable that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and unfounded accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives, as another misguided attempt to repair her damaged reputation stemming from her own statements and actions during the promotion of the film; interviews and media activities that were visible in real-time and uncensored, enabling the public to form their own opinions. These claims are entirely false, excessively sensational, and deliberately salacious with the intention to harm publicly and perpetuate a narrative in the media.”

He further justified Wayfarer’s choice to engage a crisis manager, explaining that this was done before the promotional campaign for the movie.

“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios didn’t take any proactive measures nor retaliated. They only responded to incoming media queries to ensure accurate and fair reporting and monitored social activity,” he added later. “What is significantly absent from the selectively presented correspondence is proof that no active steps were taken with media or otherwise; just internal planning and private communication to strategize, which is standard practice among public relations professionals.

After the publication of an article in The New York Times on December 21, talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) severed ties with Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, CEO of WME’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, it was later denied that Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband and a client represented by WME, played any role in the decision to part ways with Baldoni. This allegation was made by Baldoni in his subsequent lawsuit against The New York Times. In response to these claims, WME stated to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1 that there was no truth to the assertion that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. They further clarified that Baldoni’s former representative was not present at the premiere and that there was never any pressure from Reynolds or Lively to drop Baldoni as a client.

After Blake Lively’s CRD filing and an article in The New York Times, several well-known individuals expressed their support for Lively regarding the allegations against Baldoni. For instance, the author of ‘It Ends With Us’, Colleen Hoover, showed her backing on Instagram Stories. Similarly, Jenny Slate, who played Ryle’s sister in the series, publicly declared her alliance with Lively. Brandon Sklenar, a love interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, also shared the complaint published in The New York Times and linked to the outlet, expressing his concern. Additionally, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn expressed their solidarity with her.

Liz Plank recently shared on Instagram that she is no longer co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast”. She expressed her gratitude for the trust and stories shared by listeners, stating that she will miss them dearly. Although she did not specify a reason for leaving, her decision followed Blake Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. Plank emphasized her continued commitment to the values they built together and expressed hope for a better future. She promised to share more about her thoughts as she processes recent events, and vowed to continue supporting those who fight injustice.

Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, and her agency Jonesworks LLC filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, Abel (his current publicist), and Nathan (crisis communications specialist) in New York on December 24th. The lawsuit claims that Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, breach contracts, induce contractual breaches, and steal clients and business prospects. They allegedly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to launch an aggressive smear campaign against one of Baldoni’s film co-stars, then used the ensuing crisis to create a rift between Jones and Baldoni, and falsely blame Jones for the smear campaign when she had no involvement in it.

Abel, who worked at Jonesworks until last summer according to her LinkedIn profile, is accused of falsely accusing Jones now that their misconduct is being exposed, and defaming and attacking her within the industry. Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer clients of Jonesworks, are alleged to have violated their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refused Jones’s attempts to settle this dispute privately in arbitration.

When reached for comment, TopMob News contacted the defendants.

In a statement given to Variety on December 23rd, Lively’s lawyers disclosed that they acquired the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and their Wayfarer associates, further explained that none of his clients were subpoenaed about this matter. He also declared his intention to sue Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s lawyers.

On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times. In this lawsuit, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract regarding an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign they allegedly conducted against Lively after she expressed concerns about misconduct on set.

The report was deemed “false” by the plaintiffs, who claimed that it was based on Lively’s CRD complaint and that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. The lawsuit states that The New York Times relied heavily on Lively’s unverified narrative, while disregarding evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.

The plaintiffs also allege that it was Lively, not them, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign. She has denied this. The New York Times has stated that it will “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” According to The New York Times, their story was thoroughly and responsibly reported, based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails quoted accurately in the article.

That very day, Lively initiated a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, his company TAG, and Abel in New York. As stated in court records obtained by TopMob News, she is accusing the defendants of sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to address harassment, aiding and abetting such actions, breach of contract, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy under false pretenses.

The charges in the lawsuit were initially outlined in the CRD complaint Lively filed earlier that month. In response to this lawsuit, Baldoni and his associates have counter-sued _The New York Times_ (which does not name Lively as a defendant). However, her lawyers stated to TopMob that “the contents of this lawsuit do not alter the claims made in her CRD and federal complaints.”

They further added, “Contrary to the assumption that Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ploy to avoid suing Baldoni and Wayfarer, and that litigation was never her ultimate goal, this is not accurate.” Instead, they pointed out, “the federal complaint filed by Lively today demonstrates that this perspective on the Wayfarer lawsuit is incorrect.

In their legal action against The New York Times, Baldoni and his team have signaled that they intend to continue pursuing this matter. As the court documents indicate, there are more wrongdoers implicated in this case, and it’s clear that further lawsuits will follow. In a recent interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman confirmed their intention to sue Lively as well.

The buzz about Baldoni and Lively hasn’t died down yet. For example, internet users have suggested that Reynolds may have teased Baldoni in his film “Deadpool & Wolverine” through the character Nicepool.

Reynolds has not spoken out on these rumors publicly; however, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman expressed his opinion during an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show posted to YouTube on January 7th.

“My interpretation of that is if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni,” Freedman said. “You don’t joke about the situation. You treat it seriously. You file complaints and follow legal procedures. What you shouldn’t do is mock the person and turn it into a jest.

In response to your lawsuit, Lively’s legal team asserts that there have been further instances of hostile actions towards Lively, rather than a mere dispute or disagreement. They claim these “attacks” stem from unlawful retaliation by Wayfarer and its associates for Lively’s attempts to ensure a safe working environment on the film set. The legal team emphasizes that sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in all workplaces, and warns against deflecting attention from these serious allegations by blaming the victim or suggesting they fabricated the claims. They assure the public that media statements will not shield Wayfarer from accountability, and that they will present their case in court.

In New York on January 16th, Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, Abel (publicist), Nathan (crisis communication specialist) and It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane (publicist), and her firm Vision PR. The lawsuit alleges that all defendants committed civil extortion, defamation, and false light invasion of privacy. Specifically, Lively and Reynolds are accused of breaching the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentionally interfering with contractual relations, and causing economic harm.

The plaintiffs deny Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. They also accuse Lively of taking control of It Ends With Us and collaborating with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to damage the plaintiffs’ reputation in the media after she faced backlash for promoting the film. (Lively claims that she promoted the movie according to Sony’s marketing plan.)

As a committed follower reporting this, I’d like to share that in a legal dispute, it has been claimed that the defendants collaborated with The New York Times to publish a sensational news piece, which, unfortunately, was proven false. The media outlet defends its report. In response to TopMob’s inquiry, Freedman stated, “Either Blake Lively was deceived by her team or she intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.

As a steadfast supporter, I’d express it this way: In response to my lawsuit, Lively’s legal team has labeled it as “an additional installment in the abuser’s guidebook.” In a statement to TopMob News, they stated, “This scenario is familiar: A woman presents solid proof of sexual misconduct and retaliation, and the perpetrator endeavors to shift the blame onto the victim. This tactic is often referred to as DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim Offender.

She additionally asserted that Baldoni retaliated when she leveled charges against him, implying he was trying to change the subject since Lively had taken charge creatively and distanced the cast from Mr. Baldoni.)

The statement went on to explain that there were instances where the cast and others had unfavorable encounters with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. Furthermore, it will be demonstrated that Sony tasked Ms. Lively to supervise their portion of the film, which they subsequently chose for distribution and turned out to be a massive hit.

Her team went on to slam Baldoni’s reaction to her allegations of harassment.

Their defense against sexual harassment accusations was to blame her for wanting it and say it was her fault. They also suggested that what she wore caused this situation. However, her lawyers emphasized that while the victim is focusing on the abuse, the abuser is targeting the victim. This tactic of blaming the woman is weak, as it doesn’t disprove the evidence presented in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will ultimately fail.

In a recent development, I, as a devoted admirer, was privy to exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the making of “It Ends With Us”. My legal representative has stated that the actions portrayed in this video directly contradict the portrayal of me by Ms. Lively, offering a different perspective on our on-screen relationship.

According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the depicted situation was intended to convey the blossoming love between the two characters and their yearning for closeness. Both performers were acting appropriately and professionally, demonstrating respect during this romantic scene.

As a passionate devotee, I can’t help but share my perspective on a recent revelation. Apparently, Lively’s legal team claims that the video aligns word-for-word with her account in the lawsuit, suggesting it serves as indisputable proof. Moreover, they argue that every moment depicted was off-the-cuff, unplanned, and unsolicited by Ms. Lively, allegedly orchestrated spontaneously by Mr. Baldoni.

According to their statement, the video depicts Miss Lively moving back and repeatedly requesting that the characters converse instead of acting improperly, which is reminiscent of the unease experienced by any woman who has faced unwanted advances in a professional setting. (TopMob News)

In simpler terms, they wrote to the judge managing their case, asking him to restrict Freedman (Baldoni’s lawyer) from discussing the case publicly during the court process to prevent any inappropriate behavior.

A seven-minute audio message that actor Baldoni supposedly sent to actress Lively while they were filming “It Ends With Us” was made public. In the recording, it seems like the director discussed the movie’s rooftop scene that Lively rewrote and how these changes were brought up during an alleged meeting with Reynolds and their friend Taylor Swift.

He mentioned to Lively that it’s wonderful to have friends as imaginative and talented as those two individuals, not just because they’re among the most inventive people globally, but also because their combined creativity is simply astonishing. The trio of them together is something hard to believe.

In the recording, it appears that Baldoni also seemed to apologize to the actress for not responding favorably to her script. He said, “I made a mistake. One important aspect of my character is that I’ll acknowledge and apologize when I fall short.

Approximately a month following the submission of Lively’s legal complaint against Baldoni, a court hearing had been scheduled for March 9, 2026.

2025-02-18 18:50

Justin Baldoni’s Lawyer Slams Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds SNL Cameo

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