Blake Lively’s Lawyer Cites Fear of Press Leaks in Push for Privacy Order

variety.com:

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Blake Lively‘s lawyer warned a judge Thursday that without a strict confidentiality order in her suit against “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni, private information could easily leak to the press.

Lively is seeking an order that would limit certain sensitive information to “attorneys eyes only,” meaning that the attorneys could not share it with their own clients.

At a 90-minute hearing on Thursday, Lively’s attorney Meryl Governski warned that a standard confidentiality order would not be enough to ensure secrecy, given that the case involves warring publicists with ready access to the media. “The parties in this case, on both sides, include people whose entire living is made off providing information to the press and content creators,” Governski said. “There are 100 million reasons for these parties to leak information because the PR value is greater than complying with the court’s orders.” Lively is suing Baldoni, who also directed the film, for sexual harassment and for waging a media smear campaign against her after she raised complaints.

Baldoni is suing her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation. The parties are at odds over the rules that will govern the discovery process.