A judge has told Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni to end their PR battle.
The 37-year-old actress and Justin, Blake's 'It Ends with Us' co-star, are currently locked in a bitter legal dispute, and Judge Lewis Liman has now threatened to expedite their trial if the parties do not rein in the PR battle.
The judge voiced his concerns at a pretrial conference at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday (03.02.25).
Judge Liman also implored both parties to comply with the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, which bans attorneys from making comments that could have a "substantial likelihood" of influencing the jury.
Bryan Freedman, Justin's lawyer, has been running a PR campaign on behalf of his client over recent weeks. Meanwhile, the actress' legal team have urged the judge to ban Freedman from speaking about the case in ways that could potentially influence the jury in the upcoming trial.
Blake recently accused her former co-star and director of causing her "severe emotional distress".
The actress - who played Justin's on-screen love interest in 'It Ends with Us' - subsequently told the New York Times newspaper: "I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."
Justin later denied the allegations, with his lawyer describing the claims as "categorically false".
Freedman, who is acting as a lawyer for the actor and his Wayfarer Studios production company, told Variety: "These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."
