JUSTIN Baldoni has retained the celebrated lawyer who is representing the Mendenez brothers’ family in his legal fight with his It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively.
The U.S. Sun can confirm attorney Bryan Freedman has his hands full as he’s dealing with two high-profile cases in Los Angeles.
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He’s found himself in the spotlight in recent months as Eric and Lyle Menendez fight for their freedom after decades behind bars for murdering their parents, Kitty and Jose.
Despite the horrific crimes, they are being supported by the majority of their parent’s family members, who have spoken out at press conferences and are campaigning for the brothers to be released.
Erik and Lyle have long accused their late father of sexual abuse and their mother of turning a blind eye.
They have garnered a lot of support in the past year as new evidence has emerged about their alleged childhood abuse.
Nathan Hochman, Los Angeles County’s incoming district attorney, has asked for more time to review their case.
Freedman has been present at the hearings and press conferences in recent months as he works with the victim’s families.
Ahead of the next court date in January, the lawyer will also be focused on Baldoni’s case.
Lively, claims in court documents that Baldoni’s actions caused “severe emotional distress” and he went on to launch a smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
The 37-year-old actress claims Baldoni, 40, showed her naked videos and images of other women and talked about his alleged previous porn addiction, according to court docs seen by The U.S. Sun.
‘DESPERATE ATTEMPT’
Freedman released a statement on Baldoni’s behalf after the lawsuit was revealed by The New York Times.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” he said.
“It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions.”
The undated legal complaint was filed with the California Civil Rights Department and the case is likely to drag on for months.
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The U.S. Sun understands once the CRD has issued a right-to-sue notice, they will not investigate the complaint.
A spokesperson for the CRD told The U.S. Sun on Monday, “Our department is not currently involved as a party to an active lawsuit in court with respect to the matter you referenced.
“However, that is not an indication as to whether or not a civil rights complaint has been filed with us.
“Generally speaking, there are two avenues for workplace discrimination complaints filed with our department: 1. A worker can file a complaint with our department for us to independently investigate the facts and legal issues. 2. A worker can request an immediate right-to-sue in order to potentially file their own lawsuit in court without the involvement of our department.”
LEGAL BATTLE
They added, “For the latter, the right-to-sue notice is issued immediately, and our department is no longer involved and generally does not conduct an investigation.”
Baldoni’s attorney featured in a profile piece in the Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, with the headline, “The Street-Fighting Lawyer Who’s Become Hollywood’s Dark Knight.”
ESPN broadcaster Sage Steel, who hired Freedman after she was suspended from her job, praised the attorney at the time.
She told the outlet, “He’s the kind of person you need if you’re David fighting Goliath.”
The publication also claimed Freedman’s “relentless go-for-the-jugular MO — in the press, via depositions, through court filings, during private dispute resolution — is, to his mind, rooted in hyper-competitiveness.”
His client list is impressive and varied having represented everyone from Kevin Spacey to FKA Twigs.
Inside Blake and Justin’s fued
Rumors about Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni not seeing eye-to-eye began earlier this year during the promotional tour for their movie, It Ends With Us.
The film had a budget of around $25 million and was a box office hit, grossing a worldwide total of $351 million.
But despite its success, Lively and Baldoni were hardly seen together during the promo tour.
Internet sleuths noticed the pair didn’t follow each other on social media, and many of the cast only followed Lively.
TMZ then alleged that they fell out over “fat-shaming”, and Baldoni supposedly kissing for too long during scenes.
Baldoni hired a crisis management firm before reports began to emerge of Lively not being nice to interviewers and she was slammed for ‘tone-deaf’ comments about the movie.
The film was released on Netflix days before Lively filed her lawsuit, which includes texts between Baldoni’s publicist and a crisis management expert.
Lively’s team claims they were obtained through a subpoena, and one alleges Baldoni wanted the actress’s career to “be buried.”
Meanwhile, Lively has four lawyers listed for her from two different Los Angeles law firms, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
Lively is suing for sexual harassment, aiding and abetting harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, along with other counts.
Legal documents allege there was a meeting attended by Lively, her actor husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, Baldoni, bosses of Wayfarer Studios, and lawyers, to address her complaints on set.
Among her alleged demands were that Baldoni’s previous “pornography addiction” and her lack of porn “consumption” should no longer be up for discussion.
She also allegedly demanded they should not talk about their sex lives, “genitalia” or “personal times that physical consent was not given in sexual acts, as either the abuser or the abused.”
Lively also stated that she would not take part in sex scenes outside those agreed when she signed up for the movie, per the lawsuit.
The film is based on Colleen Hoover’s novel about Lily and her abusive boyfriend Ryle, played by Lively and Baldoni.
According to the lawsuit, she said touching or sexual comments from Baldoni and lead producer Jamey Heath “would not be tolerated” and that there should be “no more improvised kissing”, “biting or sucking of lip” without consent.
She also allegedly banned Baldoni, who directed the movie, from bringing his friends on set during sex scenes and said there needed to be a full-time intimacy coordinator.
In a statement to the New York Times, Lively said, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
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