Justin Baldoni ‘Couldn’t Be More Pleased’ After Blake Lively Hearing Ends Without Gag Orders

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle remained effectively deadlocked on Monday following the first hearing since her initial sexual harassment complaint and his $400 million civil countersuit were first filed over their experiences on “It Ends With Us.”

Lively’s attorneys had attempted to get a gag order in place to keep Baldoni’s lawyers from speaking to the media — referencing their chronological timeline website from over the weekend, amongst other public statements. However, the actor/director’s team successfully argued that the actress’ camp was doing the same thing, pointing back to her New York Times article.

Both sides have now been ordered to follow New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct, which prevent lawyers from prejudicing their juries with comments. With that said, they are still allowed to talk to the press to defend their clients from bad publicity … meaning no gag order.

“Our clients are devastated and want to move the case along as quickly as possible. We just couldn’t be more pleased with how the case was handled today, how it was managed,” Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said outside the New York courtroom on Monday. “We’re going to move as quickly as we possibly can and prove our innocence, in a world where sometimes people judge you before they give you a chance. And we’re going to change that.”

Meanwhile, Lively’s lawyers Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told TheWrap, “We are pleased with the result of today’s hearing and eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case. The court granted our request that all attorneys in the matter actually follow the rule of law and not make any statements that could prejudice a jury. This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. We will hold the defendants accountable, and we are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms. Lively will prevail.”

The update came just days after the “Jane the Virgin” star amended his initial complaint to include the NYT. In turn, his team is dropping the separate defamation suit against the paper originally filed in Los Angeles.

As things stand, their trial is expected to begin in March 2026.

The post Justin Baldoni ‘Couldn’t Be More Pleased’ After Blake Lively Hearing Ends Without Gag Orders appeared first on TheWrap.