During a pre-trial conference on Monday, attorney Bryan Freedman, who represents Justin Baldoni, shared some insight into Baldoni’s current state of mind as he battles legal issues with his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively.
Freedman informed Manhattan US District Judge Lewis J. Liman that Baldoni and his colleagues, Wayfarer Studios co-founders Jamey Heath and Steve Sarowitz, are facing significant financial and emotional distress.
‘Not to sound like a four-year-old fighting a four-year-old with “they started it,”‘ Bryan explained – according to People.
‘But in these kinds of cases, once someone says something it becomes fact: There’s no way to fight against it.’
In the lead-up to the trial scheduled for March 2026, Judge Liman cautioned both legal teams against making statements to the media that could potentially sway the opinion of the jury.
Freedman previously stated in a letter to the judge that Wayfarer Studios associates have been ‘exiled from polite society and suffered damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars’ following the release of the 37-year-old Gossip Girl alum’s complaint.
Justin Baldoni’s (L) outspoken attorney Bryan Freedman (R) gave some insight into his current state of mind amid his full-blown legal war against his It Ends with Us leading lady Blake Lively during a pre-trial conference about gag orders on Monday
Freedman told Manhattan US District Judge Lewis J. Liman that his clients – including the troubled 41-year-old’s Wayfarer Studios co-founders Jamey Heath (L, pictured August 9) and Steve Sarowitz (M) – ‘are devastated financially and emotionally’
Last Wednesday, sources close to Justin told THR that he’s ‘lost three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars’ including a big-screen adaptation of Pac-Man, which had been in the works since 2022.
However, Baldoni’s movie about the eighties Bandai Namco video game ‘could happen at a later date’ when ‘the dust settles’ around the scandal.
Wayfarer has a few projects already in the can including Eleanor the Great, the feature directorial debut of Scarlett Johansson, which TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics will release later this year.
Justin personally served as executive producer on the June Squibb vehicle helmed by the 40-year-old Oscar-nominated actress, who famously divorced Ryan Reynolds in 2011 the year after he co-starred with Blake in Green Lantern.
Baldoni’s independent production company will also soon see the release of Roshan Sethi’s queer rom-com A Nice Indian Boy, Rod Lurie’s sports drama The Senior, and Christopher Leone’s paramedic comedy Code 3.
And despite the off-set drama and dismal reviews, It Ends with Us still managed to amass $351M at the global box office from a $25M-budget – which the Cali-born, Oregon-raised filmmaker must have made a profit on.
The drama all began on December 20 when Lively (born Brown) filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Justin for sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the Sony Pictures drama, and revealed her side to the New York Times.
Baldoni immediately filed a libel lawsuit for $250M against the New York Times for biased coverage of the LA-born blonde’s ‘vicious smear campaign’ and she filed a lawsuit against him and his PR team on December 31 for his ‘plan to undermine her reputation in retaliation.’
Bryan (L) explained: ‘Not to sound like a four-year-old fighting a four-year-old with “they started it.” But in these kinds of cases, once someone says something it becomes fact: There’s no way to fight against it’
Judge Liman (R) reportedly ‘warned both legal teams to refrain from making statements to the press that could influence a jury’ on Monday ahead of the March 2026 trial
Freedman previously stated in a letter to the judge that Wayfarer Studios associates have been ‘exiled from polite society and suffered damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars’ following the release of the 37-year-old Gossip Girl alum’s (R, pictured in 2024) complaint
Last Wednesday, sources close to Justin told THR that he’s ‘lost three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars’ including a big-screen adaptation of Pac-Man, which had been in the works since 2022 (pictured in 2022)
However, Baldoni’s movie about the eighties Bandai Namco video game ‘could happen at a later date’ when ‘the dust settles’ around the scandal
Wayfarer has a few projects already in the can including Eleanor the Great, the feature directorial debut of Scarlett Johansson (R, pictured February 26), which TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics will release later this year
Justin personally served as executive producer on the June Squibb vehicle helmed by the 40-year-old Oscar-nominated actress, who famously divorced Ryan Reynolds (L, pictured in 2010) in 2011 the year after he co-starred with Blake in Green Lantern
Baldoni’s independent production company will also soon see the release of Roshan Sethi’s queer rom-com A Nice Indian Boy (pictured), Rod Lurie’s sports drama The Senior, and Christopher Leone’s paramedic comedy Code 3
And despite the off-set drama and dismal reviews, It Ends with Us still managed to amass $351M at the global box office from a $25M-budget – which the Cali-born, Oregon-raised filmmaker must have made a profit on
The drama all began on December 20 when Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Justin for sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the Sony Pictures drama, and revealed her side to the New York Times (pictured August 8)
Baldoni immediately filed a libel lawsuit for $250M against the New York Times for biased coverage of the LA-born blonde’s ‘vicious smear campaign’ and she filed a lawsuit against him and his PR team on December 31 for his ‘plan to undermine her reputation in retaliation’ (pictured December 4)
On January 16, the Jane the Virgin alum filed a second $400M lawsuit against Blake, Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloan for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy
Justin was last publicly seen on January 20 vacationing in Maui with his wife Emily, their nine-year-old daughter Maiya, and seven-year-old son Maxwell
On January 16, the Jane the Virgin alum filed a second $400M lawsuit against Blake, Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloan for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy.
Justin was last publicly seen on January 20 vacationing in Maui with his wife Emily, their nine-year-old daughter Maiya, and seven-year-old son Maxwell.
Meanwhile, Lively has faced substantial outrage over her treatment of journalists, sarcastically answering questions about domestic violence in the movie, and floral-filled Barbie-style promotion directly tied to her haircare and booze brands.
