I didn't see this coming.
Whoa, Blake Lively Just Made A Surprise Move To Subpoena Justin Baldoni's Phone Records
Chloe Williams serves as B+C’s Entertainment Editor and resident Taylor Swift expert. Whether she’s writing a movie review or interviewing the stars of the latest hit show, Chloe loves exploring why stories inspire us. You can see her work published in BuzzFeed, Coastal Review, and North Beach Sun. When she’s not writing, Chloe’s probably watching a Marvel movie with a cherry coke or texting her sister about the latest celebrity news. Say hi at @thechloewilliams on Insta and @popculturechlo on Twitter!
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After making a move to dismiss Justin Baldoni's lawsuit, and then receiving a second lawsuit from crisis publicist Jed Wallace, It Ends With Us star Blake Lively continues to make moves. In February, the actress filed subpoenas to Wallace, alongside companies like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cloudflare Inc., and AOL. Which, honestly, isn't too much of a surprise after Justin Baldoni published 2 years' worth of text messages and emails to bolster his complaint.
Here's what Blake Lively's team had to say about her new subpoenas in her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
Blake Lively's attorneys are bringing "receipts" to court.
In a statement issued to The Hollywood Reporter, Blake Lively's attorneys explain the reason behind their latest legal move.
“Ms. Lively has initiated discovery that will expose the people, tactics, and methods that have worked to ‘destroy’ and ‘bury’ her reputation and family over the past year,” Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson say. “We will now receive all of the ‘receipts’ that, unsurprisingly, are nowhere to be found on Mr. [Bryan] Freedman’s website, and like Ms. Lively, those ‘receipts’ will have their day in court.”
On Justin's website, TheLawsuitInfo.com, he alleges "a pattern of demands by Lively and acquiescence by Baldoni" and "concerns about Lively's undue influence over the film" as he claims creative control over the editing and marketing was taken away from him.
One such example came last June, when Justin was allegedly uninvited from Book Bonanza...and Blake Lively snuck and unfinished cut of the movie to 2,000 fans. Justin's site claims "Blake Lively told Sony that she will showing audiences at Book Bonanza her cut of the Film, regardless of Sony or Wayfarer’s approval."
And you can watch the actress admit that the “studio begged me not to show” the cut but they “didn’t have the option [to say no], I literally brought the movie with me on the airplane."
After Justin published his website, First Amendment expert Kevin Goldberg, Freedom Forum's Vice President, told Forbes that "from a First Amendment point of view," taking a step like this is "unusual."
"Public figures don't usually win these cases and are not supposed to use the courts to try the case in the court of public opinion," he says. "I'm not sure it's appropriate once you have already filed a defamation lawsuit...Legally speaking, it's not going to be, itself, relevant as evidence. It could be introduced in evidence but there's no need for it."
"The reason we have very strict standards for anyone who is trying to win a defamation lawsuit — and in particular, a celebrity who is trying to win a defamation lawsuit is they can do things like this," he continues. "Use a website and PR team to restore their reputation, they don't need to use the courts to restore their reputation. So why did he do both is my big question. It seems like his real goal is not to win the lawsuit but restore his good name, just, generally in the public view."
What do you think about Blake Lively's latest move? Read up on Um, Blake Lively Admitted She Basically Takes Over Movies, Years Before Justin Baldoni Drama for more.
