Justin Baldoni’s authorized battle along with his “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Vigorous has left him “devastated financially and emotionally,” his lawyer Bryan Freedman mentioned Monday at a pre-trial convention in Manhattan.
Talking in entrance of a choose assigned to supervise the celebrities’ warring lawsuits, Freedman added that the accusations Vigorous leveled in opposition to the “Jane the Virgin” alum and his co-defendants — “It Ends With Us” producers Jamey Heath and Steve Sarowitz, their manufacturing firm Wayfarer Studios and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel — have allegedly amounted to “hundreds of millions of dollars of prejudice.”
“My grave concern is that my clients suffered hundreds of millions of dollars of prejudice as a result of actions they were blindsided by,” he mentioned.
Freedman additionally pleaded with the choose to fast-track the case, claiming his purchasers have been “suffering greatly.”
Michael Gottlieb, lawyer for Vigorous and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, insisted they weren’t dragging their heels.
In her lawsuit filed in New York on New Yr’s Eve, Vigorous accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and, alongside along with his associates, orchestrating a public smear marketing campaign in opposition to her. The claims, which the “Gossip Girl” veteran first made in an interview with The New York Instances, mirrored these included within the her California Civil Rights Division Grievance in opposition to Baldoni.
He denied her accusations.
For his half, Baldoni sued The New York Instances for defamation and filed a countersuit in opposition to Vigorous, accusing her and Reynolds of civil extortion, defamation and extra. Her workforce denied his claims.
“Our clients are devastated and want to move the case along as quickly as possible,” Freedman mentioned exterior the courtroom on Monday.
“We just couldn’t be more pleased with how the case was handled today, how it was managed. 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.”
Vigorous’s authorized workforce additionally struck an optimistic be aware after Monday’s proceedings.
“We are pleased with the result of today’s hearing and eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case,” attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson mentioned in an announcement, per Individuals.
“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,” they added, referring to the choose’s warning that attorneys for each Vigorous and Baldoni keep away from making “extrajudicial statements” that might sway potential jurors earlier than the trial scheduled for March 2026.
Neither Baldoni nor Vigorous have been current in court docket on Monday.
The Publish has reached out to each side for remark.
