Legal teams for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are locked in a dispute over comments allegedly made about her weight, escalating tensions ahead of their upcoming trial.
Lawyers for the Gossip Girl star and the Five Feet Apart star’s studio are disputing whether alleged remarks about Lively’s weight will be presented to jurors in the upcoming trial over It Ends With Us.
The motion, filed by Wayfarer Studios, seeks to exclude the comments ahead of the May 18 trial date.
Attorneys for Baldoni argued the alleged remarks would “inflame the jury” and cause unfair prejudice.
Wayfarer Studios also claimed the comments are irrelevant to the narrowed case involving Lively ahead of the trial.
Notably, the request followed an April 2 ruling in which the judge dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, including sexual harassment allegations and all claims against Baldoni.
Attorneys Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach said they were “very pleased” after the court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and all claims against the individual defendants.
The attorneys’ said, “These were very serious allegations, and we are grateful to the court for its careful review of the facts, law and voluminous evidence that was provided.”
Shapiro and Bach said that “what’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.”
Wayfarer’s legal team argued that, with the case now focused on an alleged smear campaign, the weight-related remarks are irrelevant and would distract the jury.
Blake Lively’s lawyers countered on April 17 that the comments provide “necessary context” for the remaining claims.
