Judge seeks to limit lawyer commentary on Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni suits

A federal judge, weighing in for the first time in duelling lawsuits between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, on Feb 3 ordered lawyers on both sides to limit their commentary outside court, in an effort to tamp down some of the back-and-forth accusations in the highly publicised dispute.

- Julia Jacobs

At a hearing in United States District Court in Manhattan, a lawyer for the American actress objected to what he called "inflammatory" comments by Mr Bryan Freedman, an attorney for American actor Baldoni, as he contests her allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation surrounding their movie It Ends With Us (2024).

Since Lively came forward in December with claims against Baldoni who directed the movie and starred in it with Lively - Mr Freedman has done media interviews and provided statements disputing her accusations that she was the victim of harassment and then a smear campaign.

At the hearing, a lawyer for Lively, Mr Michael Gottlieb, said Mr Freedman had unfairly attacked the actress' character including by accusing her of bullying behaviour warning that his statements threatened to taint the pool of potential jurors for an eventual trial.