Even someone chronically online that tries to balance media consumption between terrifying governmental changes and celebrity content may not have followed all the minutiae of the dueling lawsuits between “It Ends With Us” co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. But… it *is* Hollywood’s hottest litigation with more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan movie, so even casual observers have probably developed deep opinions about the case(s).
And that’s kinda the problem. As S.D.N.Y Judge Lewis J. Liman told lawyers in a hearing this week, “You’ve got a lot in front of the court that gives, I think, the public plenty to feast upon.” Lively’s legal team, led by Willkie Farr partner Michael Gottlieb, wants Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman to shut the hell up, saying the “harassing and retaliatory media campaign” against his client has continued with “almost daily media statements or other releases to the press.”
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As reported by NBC News:
During the hearing, Gottlieb said the attacks from both sides’ playing out in the media has created an “arms race” with no guardrails. Gottlieb compared the dynamic with his adversary, Freedman, to “two 4-year-olds in a playground.”
The hearing — ostensibly to discuss a case management plan, legal issues and discovery — devolved into accusations of leaks, harassment and retaliation.
But Baldoni’s legal team was also ready with accusations of their own:
Attorneys for Baldoni, who co-starred, directed and adapted “It Ends With Us,” went on offense recently, launching a website linking to his lawsuit and 168 pages of what he says are hundreds of personal emails, documents and texts between the two, as well as their publicists and crisis managers.
This feud began as a battle for the hearts and minds of the public, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that, though the case is currently being heard in federal court, another very real tussle is still going on in the court of public opinion. But Judge Liman is pretty annoyed about that — and he threatened to move the trial date up from the currently calendared March 2026 if the attorneys couldn’t stop taking the case in front of the peanut gallery.
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And you should *absolutely* take Liman at his word — he knows how to maintain order in the courtroom despite exceptionally trying circumstances. Remember he’s the judge who sanctioned Rudy Giuliani for his own discovery shenanigans. So he won’t be cowered by the bright lights that this Hollywood legal squabble brings. (Also, his brother is Swingers director Doug Liman so to paraphrase Shania Twain, that don’t impress him much.)
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].