Blake Lively is being accused of employing “super shady” legal tactics behind the scenes, tactics that Justin Baldoni’s legal team says amount to an “abuse of process.”
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are embroiled in a fresh legal battle over a newly filed court document.
According to legal papers obtained by Us Weekly, a plaintiff known as “Vanzan” submitted legal documentation on September 27, 2024, targeting unspecified defendants. (Deadline broke the story first.)
“This action stems from an ongoing effort to harm Plaintiff’s business operations and reputation,” the court documents revealed. “Defendants have specific contractual and confidentiality commitments, as well as obligations of good faith and loyalty to Plaintiff regarding Plaintiff’s business and reputation, established through verbal promises and/or written contracts.”
Responding to this previously undisclosed subpoena-seeking lawsuit, Baldoni’s legal representative Bryan Freedman shared insights about the potential motivations and implications behind these legal maneuvers.
“Ms. Lively’s and Mr. Reynolds’ company Vanzan had nothing to do with this case and they knew it,” Freedman stated to Us Weekly on Monday, April 21. “This sham lawsuit was designed to obtain subpoena power without oversight or scrutiny, and in doing so denied my clients the ability to contest the propriety, nature and scope of the subpoena.”
Freedman, who has previously initiated Doe lawsuits against unnamed defendants, emphasized that “there is nothing normal about this” and court officials “have a duty of candor to the court and an obligation not to file fictitious lawsuits that have no basis in fact or law.”
“A party with no connection to these proceedings asserting a breach of contract against another party they claim not to be able to identify does not qualify,” he concluded. “This was done in bad faith and constitutes a flagrant abuse of process.”
However, Lively’s attorneys Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb present a contrasting perspective.
While acknowledging the Doe lawsuit, they maintain that the legal filing was the most appropriate method to investigate the online attacks Lively allegedly experienced during summer 2024 when It Ends With Us hit theaters.
“There is nothing untoward here — just conscientious and thorough investigation,” Hudson and Gottlieb declared in their statement. “The Lively parties acted upon reliable information, and employed common tools such as Doe lawsuits and civil subpoenas that are entirely lawful and appropriate for pursuing claims and uncovering the identity of unknown perpetrators of unlawful activities.”
According to Lively’s legal team, the lawsuit has exposed “the Wayfarer Parties’ documented scheme — revealed through their own text messages — to ‘destroy’ Blake Lively, a plan they executed without transparency or notice to Ms. Lively or the public, operating in what they believed would be an ‘untraceable’ manner. We have nothing to conceal — Ms. Lively voluntarily disclosed the subpoena in her initial filing, knowing it would eventually be provided to the Wayfarer Parties during discovery, which is exactly what will happen as Ms. Lively’s claims proceed through proper legal channels.”
The legal drama between Lively and Baldoni, who collaborated on It Ends With Us, kicked off in December 2024 when the former Gossip Girl star accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her.
That same month, Baldoni filed separate lawsuits targeting The New York Times, which first published the allegations, and Lively, 37, claiming defamation among other charges. (All involved parties have strongly denied any wrongdoing against them.)
Earlier, Judge Lewis J. Liman scheduled Baldoni and Lively’s trial to commence in New York on March 9, 2026, barring any out-of-court settlement between the costars.
When questioned about potential out-of-court resolution, Freedman emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting these allegations are “a really serious matter” requiring truth to come to light.
“In today’s world, the only real path to redemption is proving your innocence, and that’s what we’re actively pursuing,” he revealed during the March 12 episode of “The Town” podcast with host and former attorney Matthew Belloni. “That vindication may only be achievable in a courtroom.”
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