Justin Baldoni’s lawyer clarifies calling Blake Lively a ‘victim’

Justin Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman had referred to It Ends With Us star Blake Lively as the victim in one of the court hearings.

“My clients have a right to defend themselves,” Freedman previously said during a March 6 hearing when Lively and Reynolds’ attorney Meryl Conant Governski said the case necessitates an “Attorney’s Eyes Only” order as both sides’ impulse to leak data to the media outweighs complying with a court’s gag order,

“That is in no way abusing the victim,” Freedman had added in the court, which caught the attention of The Town podcast host Matthew Belloni in a Thursday episode.

“It is interesting you said ‘not abusing the victim,’” Belloni told the lawyer. “Does that mean you agree that Blake is a victim here?”

Freedman corrected him in the episode, saying, “I actually think that a lot of people are victims here. I think Justin is a victim here, I think Melissa Nathan is a victim. I think Jed Wallace is a victim. I think Jen Abel is a victim, I think Steve Sarowitz is. Jamey Heath is.”

Belloni went on to press Freedman by iterating, “But you did say Blake is a victim in a court hearing.”

“What I said is, ‘This is not attacking the victim,’” clarified Freedman. When Belloni said he had “put scare quotes” around the word “victim,” Freedman said, “Yeah. Well, ‘victim’ can be in the eye of the beholder.”

Baldoni and Lively are set for a 2026 trial as Baldoni pleads not guilty to sexual harassment and retaliatory smear campaign accusations made by his costar Lively. Meanwhile, Lively is being sued for defamation and extortion by her counterpart.