Justin Baldoni's lawyer says Blake Lively is 'petrified' of the 'truth' being exposed amid gag order request

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Justin Baldoni has hit back at Blake Lively's request for a gag order, with his lawyers branding her latest legal move as an attempt to 'bully' him into staying quiet because she's 'petrified' of the world learning the 'truth.'

The It Ends With Us costars have been embroiled in a legal battle ever since Blake, 37, filed an explosive lawsuit against Justin, 40, in December in which she alleged he sexually harassed her on set.

Justin then responded by filing his own bombshell lawsuit against the Gossip Girl alum, which was filled with his own share of shocking claims.

In the latest turn of events, Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds' legal team requested a gag order to curb what they called 'improper conduct' by Justin's attorneys earlier this week, citing an alleged 'harassing and retaliatory media campaign' against the couple.

Now, Justin's lawyer Bryan Freedman has responded to their request, telling DailyMail.com that their only goal is to 'defend their clients with pure, unedited facts' following her 'disturbingly false and well calculated hit piece' against Justin.

'The irony is not lost on anyone that Ms. Lively is so petrified of the truth that she has moved to gag it,' he said in a blistering statement given to DailyMail.com. 

Justin Baldoni has hit back at Blake Lively 's request for a gag order, with his lawyers branding her latest legal move as an attempt to 'bully' him into staying quiet because she's 'petrified'

The It Ends With Us costars have been embroiled in a legal battle since Blake, 37, filed a lawsuit against Justin, 40, in December in which she alleged he sexually harassed her

'The immense power that she wielded in Hollywood built on pure fear of her husband and their powerful friends came to an end the moment Ms. Lively planned a mass distribution of a disturbingly false and well calculated hit piece in The New York Times.'

Following her 80-page lawsuit, which was filed with the California Civil Rights Department last month, the New York Times released an article about the ordeal and called it a 'Hollywood Smear Machine;' in addition to his lawsuit against Blake, Justin is now suing the publication for defamation.

'Ms. Lively did this with the sole intent to ruin the lives of innocent individuals, and then went the extra mile to place blame on a fictitious smear campaign, all because she quite simply could not accept that the public had organically seen through her facade,' Bryan continued.

'When you accuse innocent individuals of something so disturbing as sexual harassment without thinking of the destruction it would cause to not only them, but the entire domestic violence community, this is where accountability for such mean spirited actions must be taken.

'We will always respect the court; however, we will never be bullied by those suggesting we cannot defend our clients with pure, unedited facts.

'All we want is for people to see the actual text messages that directly contradict her allegations, video footage that clearly shows there was no sexual harassment, and all the other powerful evidence that directly contradicts any false allegations of sexual harassment and subsequent smear campaign.

'It seems that in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.'

Blake and Ryan's gag order request came after Justin's lawyer released shocking behind-the-scenes footage from the set of It Ends With Us. 

Justin then responded by filing his own bombshell lawsuit against the Gossip Girl alum, which was filled with his own share of shocking claims 

In the latest turn of events, Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds ' legal team requested a gag order to curb what they called 'improper conduct' by Justin's attorneys earlier this week

The explosive video, exclusively released by DailyMail.com, showed all three takes of a dance scene between the costars - revealing the pair were on apparent great terms before the actress accused him of sexual harassment. 

Blake then hit back at the clip's release, with her lawyers saying it actually proved that she was uncomfortable during the scene.

'Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning,' her legal team shared in a statement with DailyMail.com. 

Her team claimed the video 'showed Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning in toward Ms. Lively, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and talking with her out of character.' 

'Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint,' they added.

Blake's lawyer also insisted that none of the intimacy shown in the video from the film - which Justin directed and starred in alongside Blake - was choreographed. 

'Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present,' they said.

'Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively's co-star, but the director, the head of studio and Ms. Lively's boss.'

Now, Justin's lawyer Bryan Freedman has responded to their request, telling DailyMail.com that their only goal was to 'defend their clients with pure, unedited facts' 

He said in a statement to DailyMail.com, 'We will always respect the court; however, we will never be bullied by those suggesting we cannot defend our clients with pure, unedited facts' 

Blake's legal team claimed that her 'leaning away' from Justin during the scene was not acting, and that the clips shows her 'repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk.'

'Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively's discomfort,' they continued.

'They will recognize her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.'

Her team said that releasing the video to the media 'was another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public' and 'a continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign.' 

'We are continuing our efforts to require Mr. Baldoni and his associates to answer in court, under oath, rather than through manufactured media stunts,' her lawyer stated.

In a letter dated January 23 and obtained by People, another member of Justin's legal team, Kevin Fritz, asked for the judge to deny the order, writing Blake's 'desire to force the Wayfarer Parties to defend themselves privately against allegations made publicly is not a proper basis for a gag order. It is tactical gamesmanship, and it is outrageous.'

Blake and Ryan then doubled down, with their lawyer sending a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman on Friday reiterating the need for the protective order, according to Deadline.

'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,' attorney Esra Hudson wrote on behalf of the couple, per the outlet. 

'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 continued. 

Ersa also suggested that Justin's alleged smear campaign against Blake may still be ongoing.

'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 actress' attorney stated.

'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.'