Ryan Reynolds is in damage control mode!
As we previously reported, he and Blake Lively are trying to stop Justin Baldoni’s attorney from talking to the press amid their legal battle. The couple submitted a letter in court earlier this week demanding a judge issue a protective order against Bryan Freedman, accusing him of launching a “harassing and retaliatory media campaign” against the Gossip Girl alum. They claimed he violated court rules by making statements to the media and releasing footage from the It Ends With Us set that could sway a jury.
Hmm. Blake and Ryan seem pretty nervous about what could come out next, especially if Justin creates a website with all the receipts he feels would quash her sexual harassment claims. You’d think this was Blake’s call, but we’re now hearing Ryan is the one leading the charge to silence Justin and his team!
On Friday, a source for Dailymail.com claimed the Deadpool & Wolverine star spearheaded this legal move! Why? He is desperately trying to prevent any disruptions to his upcoming projects at his company, Maximum Effort Productions! See, this legal battle is hurting his rep — and that’s bad for business! The insider explained:
“Ryan was a driving force in requesting a gag order for Justin’s attorney. Ryan’s production company has a lot of projects in the works right now and Ryan would be devastated if this impacted these, as it is unfair to his coworkers and the people who work at his company.”
There’s no doubt this legal drama could hurt his company. Many people following the controversy believe Blake and Ryan are the aggressors here, so much so they could be unwilling to support their projects in the future. Those involved could see the bad PR and back out. A lot of things could go wrong, so we can understand why he wants to silence Freedman before he can further sway the public — even though it’s a bit hypocritical since Blake started all this with The New York Times article! Just saying!
And speaking of Blake, what about his wife? Did he also push for this for the actress? Obviously, yeah! That, too!
According to the insider, Ryan is totally worried about Blake’s “well-being” and career. And sadly, she is “deeply affected” by what is going on. Regardless of your opinions about Blake, we can all recognize that something so public and messy can be upsetting and draining for a person. So we hope she and Justin are taking care of their mental health during this process! And it sounds like Ryan possibly took a step to help his wife with that. The source continued:
“Ryan isn’t solely focused on his own career. He is also concerned for Blake’s and her well-being. She is deeply affected by all of this. He is as well. This is a nightmare for everyone involved, and the fact that it doesn’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon is even more unsettling for everyone.”
Whether the judge will side with Blake and Ryan on this issue is unknown! No final decision has been made yet! However, a legal source put in their two cents — saying it’s rather “absurd” to think Justin or Bryan would be “banned from talking about a case that they are a part of” and have every right to defend themselves when it comes to the allegations:
“Their gag order was dead in the water. This idea to request a gag, whether it was their idea or not, is not going to work to their advantage. Blake, Ryan and their attorneys have not kept quiet about this case in dealing with the public. This is no different. So no, they will not be silenced. This gag order request is a joke.”
