Blake Lively has SLAMMED Justin Baldoni‘s response to her motion to dismiss!
On Thursday, Justin’s lawyers argued a #MeToo law Blake cited in her motion was not applicable to her “fabricated” sexual harassment claims — but now Blake’s legal team is fighting back, blasting Justin for trying to stop ALL victims from speaking out!
Lawyers Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told Us Weekly on Friday:
“Baldoni, [Steve] Sarowitz and the rest of the Wayfarer Parties are now arguing that nobody should be protected by the sexual harassment privilege. They’re not just saying that it doesn’t apply to Ms. Lively — they’re saying it’s unconstitutional and no woman should ever have these protections. That’s right: Justin Baldoni, the man who has built his brand on supposedly speaking up for victims, believes that the First Amendment rights of victims of sexual assault and harassment to speak out should give way to the rights of perpetrators to sue their victims ‘into oblivion.'”
They also slammed the Baldoni team for being “so hell bent on trying to destroy Blake Lively that they are willing to shred a law designed to protect all victims just to make sure they ‘bury’ one.” Oof! Brutal!
Related: Justin Uses Ryan Words Against Him In Heated Response To Motion To Dismiss!
In a statement following his client’s filing, Bryan Freedman claimed the Gossip Girl alum was trying to set a “dangerous precedent” by preventing the Jane the Virgin star from fighting back, saying:
“Ms. Lively and her circle of Hollywood elites cannot prevent my clients from exercising their constitutional right to petition the court to clear their names from her false and harmful claims. What Ms. Lively is attempting to do is to set a dangerous precedent by barring the courthouse doors to my clients and punishing them for having their day in court, a right protected by the First Amendment.”
In part, they argued that Blake is not protected by the California law, which was put in place in 2023, because she first made her accusations long before filing a civil rights complaint. The attorneys also noted that the protection only applies to harassment claims with a “reasonable basis” that are made “without malice.” The response alleged:
“Lively fabricated her allegations of sexual harassment, either wholesale or by exaggerating benign (and not harassing) interactions in a concerted, malicious effort to seize control of the Film and later to restore her reputation after a well-publicized series of marketing missteps that sullied her reputation.”
As always, this remains messy AF! Who do you think will win this motion to dismiss battle?? Sound OFF (below)!
[Image via MEGA/WENN & Access Hollywood/YouTube]
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