Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has ignited a firestorm with a contentious interview that aims to dismantle Blake Lively’s narrative in their ongoing legal battle over the film It Ends With Us.
The explosive sit-down, aired in early March 2025, has thrust the feud back into the spotlight, with Freedman alleging that Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign are unraveling under the weight of evidence—and he’s not holding back. While Donald Trump isn’t directly tied to this Hollywood clash, his reported interest in the drama, given his history of reacting to celebrity scandals, adds an extra layer of intrigue as of March 16, 2025.
Freedman’s interview, featured on outlets like The Town podcast with Matthew Belloni, was a calculated strike. He doubled down on Baldoni’s defense, claiming Lively’s accusations—filed in a December 2024 complaint with the California Civil Rights Department—don’t hold water when viewed against unedited footage and communications. One key moment? Freedman revisited a dance scene from the film, releasing raw takes showing Lively and Baldoni joking on set, countering her assertion that he made her uncomfortable by dragging his lips down her neck while whispering, “It smells so good.” Freedman insists the audio reveals a lighthearted exchange—Lively quipping about spray tan, Baldoni laughing—painting her discomfort as exaggerated or fabricated.
The lawyer didn’t stop there. He alleged Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, orchestrated a smear campaign against Baldoni, not the other way around, citing texts and a website Baldoni’s team launched to showcase “untampered evidence.” Freedman’s bombshell: Lively’s team pushed negative press about Baldoni during the film’s August 2024 release, then cried foul when the public turned on her. He even hinted at calling Taylor Swift—Lively’s close friend—to testify, suggesting her influence might have amplified the PR war. This escalation follows Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and their publicist, filed in January, accusing them of defamation and extortion.
Lively’s camp fired back, calling Freedman’s interview a “desperate” attempt to shift blame. Her lawyers argue the footage proves her unease, showing her leaning away from Baldoni, and dismiss his claims as “abuser playbook” tactics. Meanwhile, Trump, ever the spectator of high-profile dustups, is said to be “furious” on Baldoni’s behalf—per X posts—seeing parallels to his own battles with media narratives, though no official statement ties him to the fray.