Justin Baldoni Was Not 'Happy' About Blake Lively Being 'Negatively Criticized' Before Lawsuits, Says Lawyer

• Justin Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman says the star was not "happy" about any negative attention It Ends With Us faced upon its August 2024 release

• "It wasn't in his interest for Blake Lively to be negatively criticized," Freedman said

• Blake Lively has accused Baldoni of launching a smear campaign to ruin her reputation, which he denies
  

Justin Baldoni's attorney claims the star did not want negative attention directed at Blake Lively, despite her alleging he launched a smear campaign directed at her.

On Thursday, March 13, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman appeared on The Town podcast with Matthew Belloni, where the pair discussed key issues in the ongoing legal conflict between Lively, 37, and her It Ends With Us director and costar, which is set for trial in March 2026.

At one point, Freedman addressed host Belloni's assertions that text messages between Baldoni's publicists and crisis managers included in Lively's complaint show the group "celebrating" negative press against Lively.

He said emojis were removed from those conversations in the lawsuit that make it clear "they're joking around" about articles that were organically published upon It Ends With Us' release.

"In fact, the publicists are saying 'We had nothing to do with this whatsoever.' And there's other people that say the same thing and that organically this press was coming out," Freedman said.

"Justin wasn't happy about anything that would be negative about Blake, about the movie, about him or anything. This wasn't just about him or just about her, this was about the project they were working on together."

Freedman said It Ends With Us was Baldoni's "passion project" and he was not happy about any negative attention the movie received upon its release in August 2024.

Related: Justin Baldoni's Lawyers Claim Blake Lively's Publicist Made Him a Scapegoat to 'Escape' the Actress' 'Wrath'

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"The last thing he wanted to see was anything online that would somehow criticize the movie," Freedman added. He characterized Baldoni's communications with crisis PR representatives in the wake of It Ends With Us' release as Baldoni wanting "to know what was happening out there and if there was anything that people could do differently to change the response to the movie or otherwise."

"It wasn't in his interest for Blake Lively to be negatively criticized; it's not in his interest for him to be negatively criticized," Freedman said. "It's not in his interest for this movie to do anything other than reap rewards at the box office and to have domestic violence survivors feel an affinity to the project and to be understood and to be heard."

Lively included a series of alleged text messages between Baldoni, his publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis PR expert Melissa Nathan that Lively claimed showed a smear campaign was orchestrated and meant to "destroy" her reputation, in her complaint. 

Related: Brandon Sklenar Addresses Whether There Was a Hidden Meaning to Wearing Same Pin as Justin Baldoni (Exclusive)

Baldoni's team has claimed that any negative attention Lively received during and after the film's press tour was created organically, and they alleged in an amended complaint that Baldoni was subject of a smear campaign.

His legal team also claimed in the amended complaint filed in February that Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds tried to force Baldoni to issue a statement in August 2024 that would have laid blame for It Ends With Us' "troubled production" and negative press Lively received at Baldoni's feet. Baldoni's legal team said they refused to issue the statement.

During the podcast interview, Freedman said communications between Baldoni and his representatives included in Lively's lawsuit "was truly something that was organic when press would come out."

"They weren't happy about negative press about Blake Lively and how she marketed the movie," he added.

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