Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni’s Court Hearing Explained

[Source: Merit TV]

Celebrity lawyer and legal analyst Christopher C. Melcher, who is ranked as a best family law attorney in California, explains Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni‘s defamation court hearing on Merit TV.

Joe: Well, It Ends With Us legal battle hit the courtroom yesterday for the first hearing in this high-stakes saga. Although Hollywood actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni weren’t present for this pre-trial meeting, their attorneys sparred over the plethora of allegations made over the last few months, both emphasizing their clients’ innocence and the negative impact this case has had on them.

Fanchon: Yeah, word is the fireworks were flying in the courtroom. This feud now turning into an all-out war, with multiple lawsuits captivating the public’s interest, and it’s being dissected by social media spectators. Y’all know what that means. The judge warned both parties not to fight this case out in the media and warned to avoid making public statements that could sway the proceedings. He even threatened to move up the trial if this press battle continues.

Joe: Hey, let’s move it up. Let’s bring in celebrity lawyer and legal analyst, Chris Melcher. Chris, thanks for joining us this morning. This entire legal battle has taken the internet by storm with so many people invested in every little detail, probably because of the back-and-forth from these two. What was the purpose of yesterday’s hearing, remind us of that, and then some of the main takeaways.

Main Points of Lively’s Hearing

Chris Melcher: Well, the purpose of the hearing yesterday was really to kind of bring some order to this case that we’ve seen played out in the press. And so we’re bringing here these new parties. The New York Times is added to the case for a particular claim and all these he said, she said stuff. So the judge is saying, “Look, let’s get everyone here before the court. We’re not going to allow depositions or discovery,” meaning questions being asked right now. “We want to bring everyone forward. Let’s have all the attorneys ready to go, and then we’re going to process this case.”

Fanchon: It’s interesting because we actually are hearing that some of the conversation that’s happening on social media is kind of being referred to in the courtroom. Can you break down what exactly both sides are arguing in this case?

Blake Lively’s Smear Campaign Claims

Chris Melcher: Well, Fanchon, that’s right. I mean, whoever picked the title to this movie, It Ends With Us, is right, because these folks are going at it really for their careers. And so it started with Blake claiming that she was the victim of a smear campaign and she released a lot of text messages supporting that theory that she was unfairly targeted to make her look bad in the media. And there was a lot of sympathy around her. However, when Baldoni came out in defense, he showed other text messages and emails which made it look like Blake might’ve actually been the villain, not the victim. And so it’s really a fight over who wronged who and who is really responsible for all of this fallout that we’re witnessing here.

Joe: Did you hear anything yesterday in the proceedings, were there any comments or instructions made regarding Baldoni’s newest website and other released media the last week or two?

Justin Baldoni’s Website Lawsuit Information

Chris Melcher: Well, Joe, that (the lawsuit website) came out because there was, really, we don’t want to see these tried in the press, but honestly, in these high profile cases, that’s exactly what happens. To file a lawsuit against somebody, it really doesn’t take a whole lot. And what we’re seeing in these cases is 100-page, 200-page complaints with text message snippets on there, totally unnecessary. Both sides are trying this in the press. The judge can’t stop them necessarily from doing that, but warned them that if they continue battling in the press, that the judge will move the trial date earlier and saying, you can just do this right now in the courtroom if you’re so prepared to go in the press tour. So yes, Baldoni has a website where he’s posted stuff, but that’s really not a big deal. This is all public court documents that really anyone can access.

Fanchon: Yeah. You mentioned the judge warning that he could move up the date. The trial date right now is set for March 2026. It doesn’t look like they are going to make it to March 2026. We don’t know that. But what are some of the biggest concerns that would cause if they do move this case up any?

Moving up the 2026 Trial Date

Chris Melcher: Well, there’s really not much time in legal space to get all this information because we have so many parties now, including The New York Times, as a defendant here. So all this information has to be exchanged and analyzed and then presented to a jury. So this puts everyone on a very fast track, but the damage is being done to both of them. Reputationally, this is huge. So I got to think that both of them are going to want a resolution, whether that’s through a trial or settlement, sooner than later.

Joe: Hey Chris, this is just me. I don’t think they could put out anything leading up to the 2026 official date that would be more interesting than this. We go to the theater, that’s boring. This is the real stuff.

Fanchon: This is a real reality show.

Joe: All right, Chris. Hey, thank you for your time and insight as we continue to follow developments in this. Thank you.

Fanchon: Thanks.

Chris Melcher: Thank you.