Justin Baldoni's Lawyer Says He Won't Settle with Blake Lively, and What Comes Next in the Case, with Bryan Freedman ｜ Ep. 1092
Episode Stats
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Summary
Justin Baldoni's lawyer Brian Friedman joins The Megyn Kelly Show to give his thoughts on a judge's decision to dismiss part of his counterclaims against Blake Lively and the New York Times. Megynkelly.co/TheMeganKellyShow
Transcript
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Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show, live on Sirius XM Channel 111 every weekday at New East.
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Hey everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly. Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show.
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Well, no sooner did we wrap our individual take on what happened in Baldoni versus Lively
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than my friend and lawyer Brian Friedman and I managed to connect
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and he's got all sorts of thoughts on what actually went down
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with this judge dismissing part of his counterclaims
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back with Brian Friedman to bring you the story straight from the source's mouth.
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There's no one better to talk to about what actually happened here
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than the man who represents Justin Baldoni and who's been out there fiercely defending him
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and waging war against Blake Lively who he believes is not a good person
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All right, so give us your overall take on this federal district court judge
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dismissing large portions of your counterclaims against Blake Lively,
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Ryan Reynolds, the New York Times, and this PR agent who represented the couple.
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The last time I was with you, actually, was the last kind of disaster in L.A.,
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I think it was March 7th, and we were on together.
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And so, you know, yet another crisis in L.A., and I'm here.
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But my take on what the judge did was the judge simplified things.
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And, you know, while, you know, we're not pleased that he got rid of the defamation causes of action,
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you know, the truth was the case was never really about, you know, defamation.
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And while it's in our while it's our response and it's while it's a portion of our claims, you know,
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from the very start, this case was about somebody being wrongfully accused.
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And and it's also been about Melissa Nathan and her team at TAG and about Jen Abel and and herself
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and about her being wrongfully accused about a smear campaign.
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And and the reality is, you know, when you you know, what I believe is going on is that the judge,
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you know, is getting through all of this and saying, hey, we're going to parrot this down to really what the issues are in the case.
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I just want, you know, answers to the key questions.
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So so that's what I really think when you parrot down the law and all of that to what the judge is trying to do here.
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What do you make of the victory lap she and her lawyers are taking, claiming absolute vindication,
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calling the counterclaims basically a sham, saying the judge saw right through them
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and Blake Lively out there thanking the 19 organizations who filed briefs on her behalf?
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Right. Well, you know, without getting into detail on that, I mean, first of all, the judge made clear that he didn't read the briefs.
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The judge made clear that he didn't rule on 47.1, which she's going around and celebrating a victory.
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And 47.1 was the was the California statute that is a new statute that she took the position that you couldn't defend yourself
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by filing a claim against an accuser concerning sexual harassment or sexual assault, which, you know, in most cases is a really important law.
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In most cases, it is a really important conceptual case.
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But, you know, you got to ask yourself here, who's the real victim?
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The real victim is Justin and the others, and it's because they've been wrongfully accused.
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And ask yourself, you know, when you've been in a situation where you've been wrongfully accused, you know, how do you defend yourself?
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Because that's all that's been done here is putting everything out on a website, putting everything out for the public, not hiding anything and saying, here it is.
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And 47.1 seems to say this new California law, if you're an alleged sexual harassment or sexual assault or hostile work environment plaintiff
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and somebody who you've accused comes back at you saying, I didn't do it.
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And what you're alleging is defamatory of me, thanks to this statute, that person defending themselves saying, I didn't.
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And what you say is defamation can get in a lot of trouble, potentially, could have to pay that person's legal fees if the counterclaim gets dismissed,
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could have to pay triple the legal fees, potentially, and punitive damages.
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So the California statute almost makes it, like, extremely dangerous for someone in Justin Baldoni's position to actually defend himself against a sexual harassment complaint.
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Well, it's not dangerous if you know you're right.
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It hasn't been about Saturday Night Live tours.
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It hasn't been about the People 100, you know, or the Time 100.
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And it hasn't been about, you know, the misrepresentations.
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You know, we've been in this case for a while now.
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You know, have we seen, you know, text messages?
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And what we've seen from Blake Lively is her showing, you know, who she really is.
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And the truth is, you know, that there's a famous quote that says, when people show you who they are, believe them.
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Because you say it's clear he didn't read the briefs.
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I have to say, I was surprised at some of the sweeping language in there.
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For example, him saying, well, Justin Baldoni, you can't really sue him.
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Because when you sue a public figure, when you are a public figure suing for defamation,
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you have to meet the New York Times versus Sullivan standards showing that the person who defamed you did it with actual malice,
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meaning they knew it was false when they said it.
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This would be Ryan Reynolds saying false things to WME, the agency, that he got to break up with Justin.
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So he knew the things were false or he behaved with reckless disregard for their falsity.
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And the judge seemed to say, eh, anything he heard was from his wife, so he couldn't have known it was false.
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At worst case scenario, he was mistaken, and therefore your claims against Justin need to be dismissed,
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though a couple of those have been granted leave to refile.
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I just don't understand that because there is evidence that Ryan Reynolds had direct interactions with Justin,
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Yeah, well, I think it's a nuance in the law that you're aware of, but public figures who sue for defamation have to prove malice.
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What the judge essentially said, as you read the order, is that there can be no malice here
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because the allegations arose from the CRD complaint, which is a protected document as a legally filed document.
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The civil rights complaint that she filed to kick this whole thing off and then leaked to the New York Times, clearly.
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We think there's so much collateral action that happened here factually that is outside of the scope of that document itself.
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You know, for example, the New York Times said, you know, that they reviewed thousands of text messages
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and made their own determination based on that.
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These things are not directly taken from the CRD complaint.
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And, you know, and the court, you know, addressed that in its own way.
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And, you know, the court, you know, the court was very matter of fact about that.
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I don't think the, you know, generally judges or courts like when media is sued.
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They certainly don't like when, you know, public figures sue for defamation.
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I think in this case, there's a lot of arguments on why there is malice.
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But again, I get back to why are we here and what are we really, you know, proving here?
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And, you know, and I feel really upset about the fact that, you know,
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compensation in the form of damages as a result of defamation is not possible at the moment for him.
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I'm sure, you know, they will both say things in the future that will bring this back to life.
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Can I ask you about, you mentioned 47.1, this law in California that kind of protects someone
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even alleging sexual harassment from getting sued for defamation.
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In other words, if the defamation case is dismissed, it gives them potentially triple
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That could be millions and millions of dollars if the judge says it applies and Justin has to pay.
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Before we ever even get to discovery in this case, Brian, does he have that kind of money?
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And what are the odds that the judge is going to impose that hefty penalty on him?
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Well, you know, I'm not at liberty to talk about his finances, but suffice it to say that
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that I doubt many people have that kind of money.
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But, you know, but I think the, you know, the distinction in this case is that sometimes
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the law does not, you know, take into account morality.
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And, you know, while this particular statute is a good statute in cases where it's important
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and it matters and where there's someone who's bullying the victim.
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And I want to take that really seriously because I think it's really important and Justin feels
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But where it doesn't apply is a case where somebody has created allegations that do not
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And we now know exactly what those allegations are.
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We, you know, we have a specific understanding of what those allegations are.
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We've seen video that shows exactly what happened in the scene that she said was so inappropriate.
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And we've seen, you know, the text messages about coming to my trailer.
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We've seen the evidence that directly refuse the allegations of sexual harassment.
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So in this case, you know, from our perspective, there's not nearly the risk that there would
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In this case, it's truly about trying to prove that you didn't sexually harass someone.
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And why, with his career destroyed at the moment, why is he not allowed that right to defend
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himself and to be able to say, this is not okay?
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Does the judge get to take any of that into account?
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Her team has made clear they're going to move to get all of her fees behind this motion to
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And I'm sure they're going to ask for them to be troubled or tripled and possibly punitive
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But will the judge be able to consider what we know to be the evidence in the case, just
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from all you've done, even pre-discovery, to put together what really happened here?
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Or do you actually think there's a real shot, Justin, could be on the hook for this woman's
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Well, I think the judge has to look at this statute, which is a brand new statute, which
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there's absolutely no case law on, which hasn't been challenged at all.
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And the judge is either going to or not going to make a determination as to whether it applied
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So far in the ruling, the judge specifically said that he did not take that statute into
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consideration, but he did, you know, welcome the parties to file, you know, briefs on trying
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to recover their attorney's fees, including using 47.1 as an argument, I believe, because
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the ruling wasn't a part of that and the judge didn't rule on it.
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But, you know, there's a chance that the judge could consider that.
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I think it's also a statute that's completely untested.
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And we have to ask ourselves, you know, where there are good laws that help to protect good
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people, when does it go too far that your constitutional rights are taken away?
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And when does it go too far that they're taken away in a way that punishes you so severely
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for trying to defend yourself and saying, this is not OK and this defames me?
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Can you just speak to what you think her strategy was here?
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I mean, was it I'll file this civil rights division complaint and then my allegations
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will be protected, undermining any attempt to sue me for potentially defamatory statements.
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And then I will leak it to The New York Times so it will get out there.
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And then everyone will know that I'm the victim here, as opposed to the narrative that existed
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prior to her filing that complaint, which was she seems like a real bitch and she is tone
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deaf on domestic violence and she seems to have blown up her movie for no apparent reason.
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Those those were the buzz that was part of the buzz going around about her.
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So is is that your theory of the case, Brian, that she launched this whole thing in her own
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Well, I, I, I believe what happened in the case and it's pretty clear, right, is that,
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you know, press came out, which was negative toward her.
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There was press that came out with that was negative toward Justin.
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But but, you know, these, you know, whether it's Internet sleuths who are amazing or whether
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it's, you know, amazing reporters went back in time and pulled videos and pulled, you know,
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information and, you know, generally videos don't lie right about how you've behaved in
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They put that information out, whether it was the Christie flaw, you know, video or whether
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it was other videos, whether it was the videos where she said, here's what I do.
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I just, you know, misrepresent what I'm, you know, I'm trying to get a role and then I take
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over the film and, you know, or, or any of that stuff.
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I think that the reporters and other people in the media played that for people and people
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And there was an organic response as a result of that.
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It was too much for her to believe that somebody could actually not like her based on her own
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I think that was something that, that, that she couldn't handle, whether that's a, you
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know, whether that's an interesting narcissism quality or otherwise, I don't know, not a doctor,
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but, but I can tell you this, the, the, the result of it was her scurrying around trying
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to blame someone else for why her own behavior seemed to be the cause of, of people not liking
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her. And that spiraled into something that, you know, is, you know, was completely out of control.
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I mean, whenever do you see someone, you know, make a red carpet walk and, and, and go out in
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the press and bring all of their, their, their friends into this and, and make this situation
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bigger than what it is. Is this good for her? Is this good for her career? Is this good for
00:19:02.260
her children? Is this good for her family? You know, you have to ask yourself at some point,
00:19:06.660
everybody has a part in everything, right? Does she, is she, does she, is she capable of taking
00:19:12.640
responsibility for her part in this and owning that? That's, we haven't seen that yet. And that's
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why, you know, that, that many people out there are finding evidence about how she's behaved,
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how she's treated reporters, how she's treated people, how she's treated individuals, how she's
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treated, you know, waiting staff and, and, and others and saying, it's not okay. We don't like
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you. She's a bully. That's my own conclusion. She's an obvious bully who can't take any rounds
00:19:43.440
of negative press, which is so absurd. You and I both know that public figures, many of whom you've
00:19:49.520
defended, including yours truly have to take tons of negative press. And it's just part of being a
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public figure. It's not pleasant, but to, to try to ruin a man's life over one mild round that she had
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to suffer when this movie came out is just insane. That's to me, clear, clearly what she's doing.
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Can I ask you about what remains? Because my own take was, so the civil extortion claim is gone.
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The defamation claim is gone. The false light invasion of privacy claim, counterclaims, I should
00:20:19.620
say, by Justin against her and the related parties are gone. But what's, what's left? Because I heard
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you say it's four claims. I thought it was just the tortious interference and the breach of the covenant
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of good faith and fair dealing insofar as he's alleging that Ryan Reynolds messed with his
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relationship with Ari Emanuel over at WME. Like if, if that happened and they interfered with Justin's
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agency relationship, you still have a claim. Where am I wrong? How is it bigger?
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Well, it's bigger because there's an intentional interference with contract, which is against
00:20:52.360
Blake and Ryan, um, that the judge gave us a roadmap to replete. Um, there's intentional
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interference with perspective economic advantage. And that's got goes beyond just a contract. It
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goes to the heart of, you know, are you going to be able to work again? Um, there's negligent in
00:21:10.380
negligent interference with perspective economic advantage against Blake and Ryan. And there's
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something called breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing against Blake only.
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And those claims, you know, are being replayed. Uh, the judge again, gave us a roadmap to,
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to, on how to replete those, um, and what the judge would like to see. We are doing that now,
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um, and working through that. And, and those are significant claims, but nothing as is as significant
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as taking her deposition, going through that process, getting the witness testimony and the
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witnesses deposed and going into the courtroom and showing the truth to show that there was no
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sexual harassment. Nothing is more important than that. And you think that deposition could take
00:22:01.380
place as early as when? Uh, it's been noticed in June. Um, we'll see, you know, when she actually,
00:22:08.500
uh, decides to appear and, um, and, you know, but I, I, I assume that it will take place before
00:22:15.180
August 15th, because that's the close of, of discovery of that type. Are you going to get
00:22:21.900
Ryan as well? Ryan Reynolds? We we'll see. I mean, you know, obviously he's defending the case. So of
00:22:27.960
course we're going to notice his deposition and it, you know, and the judge has clearly indicated
00:22:32.980
that the judge would like to limit discovery, um, and limit the, you know, the, the, the collateral
00:22:39.280
issues in the case. Um, we think there's really important issues that, that there needs to be
00:22:45.240
discovery on. And, and those will be some of the battles along the way that, that we will have. Um,
00:22:51.220
but, you know, there's, there's no substitute for the truth. And, and from the beginning, this has
00:22:56.300
been about facts, facts, facts, right? Put them out there. Where is the evidence? Where are the
00:23:02.700
receipts? Put them out there so that people can see the truth. This is about someone who's had their
00:23:08.360
career destroyed and trying to build that back. How did Justin take the news, Brian? It's a having
00:23:17.220
practice law. I know it's never, it's never great when you get a decision like this one. Um, how's he
00:23:22.440
feeling? I, you know, I think that, that, uh, injustice, um, is, is a word I think I can best describe
00:23:32.080
it, uh, a lack of understanding. If she said these things about me that were untrue,
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how come I don't have a legal redress in terms of defamation? If this, you know, you know, and,
00:23:46.520
you know, it's clear, you know, the evidence is clear that they, you know, secreted to get the,
00:23:52.040
the, you know, information, um, on this Van Zandt subpoena and created, you know, this whole
00:23:59.440
law, doe lawsuit and, and, and got that information so that, that no one could see it and then use
00:24:06.160
that information so that they could put together this hit piece in the New York times. And that was
00:24:12.000
devastating for Justin. It was, you know, if anybody remembers what December 21st was like,
00:24:17.720
um, for him, there was a hundred percent of the people saying he's a horrible person and zero percent.
00:24:24.560
Well, except for me, who actually saw him on a day-to-day basis and, um, and his family,
00:24:30.540
you know, who, who really were on his side until we put out the facts, until we put out the receipts,
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until we put out the documents, you know, because this has always been about facts and truth and,
00:24:43.700
and, and, and, and it's, you know, it's frustrating for him, uh, who knows exactly what he did and didn't,
00:24:50.120
didn't do. Did he acquiesce too much to her demands? Absolutely. Cause he was afraid,
00:24:56.240
but that's very different than whether he sexually harassed her.
00:25:01.840
Is his career in ruins? Are, are he, are people not offering him jobs? Is he not able to get
00:25:08.220
funding for an additional picture? You know, he's lost jobs. It has affected his career,
00:25:14.980
um, at the moment. Um, it's obviously affected, you know, him emotionally and his self-esteem and,
00:25:21.820
and, you know, and, and he's putting up the best face he can for his family, um, and whatnot, but,
00:25:27.920
but all he wants is truly a chance, a courtroom and a jury to be able to tell his story to, you know,
00:25:36.340
he's not going around on red carcass. He's not going around, you know, you know, you know,
00:25:41.480
with interviews. He's not going around on some victory tour, even when she dropped her
00:25:46.160
emotional distress claims, or we're in the process of dropping her, her emotional distress claims.
00:25:51.420
And, you know, um, they, they have an interesting, uh, ability to go on victory tours, whether they
00:25:58.160
win or lose. So it doesn't, it doesn't even matter. I could see her losing the case and going on a
00:26:02.740
victory tour. Um, but that's, you know, that's what we're dealing with, right? When people show you
00:26:07.400
who they are, believe them. And, uh, and we think that plays well. She, she was, she, she's being
00:26:14.500
forced to drop her claims for, uh, intentional infliction of emotional distress because she
00:26:18.720
refused to fork over her medical records. When you rightfully asked for them, any defense lawyer
00:26:23.860
would, if you're getting sued for that claim, you say, okay, show me all your mental distress evidence,
00:26:29.200
including your psychiatric records and any, uh, anything else that would support this claim.
00:26:34.100
And as soon as you guys did that, she said, nevermind, I'll withdraw the claims, but I want
00:26:38.500
them withdrawn without prejudice. So I can file them at any point in the future. If I changed my
00:26:43.460
mind, uh, what did you make of how the judge handled that? Because he seemed to say, you're
00:26:48.140
not getting away with that sister. Uh, that's not happening. He seemed to say, you guys come up with
00:26:53.000
an agreement on how this is going to get disposed of. That is not going to let her get away with,
00:26:57.800
um, keeping that sword hanging over Justin the whole time and also maintaining the position of,
00:27:03.800
you don't get to see a single record of me with my therapist.
00:27:07.900
Well, the great thing about the law is when you're the plaintiff, um, you have a burden to
00:27:13.180
prove your claims and to prove your damages. And as part of that, any, anyone that claims emotional
00:27:19.460
distress is required to provide evidence of that emotional distress. Apparently, you know,
00:27:24.960
um, she didn't think the law applied to her. So she decided that she was not going to provide that
00:27:30.660
information and whether it existed or not, she wasn't going to comply with that rule. Um, and,
00:27:37.700
you know, I think things are still being worked out amongst it, but she, you know, when she makes
00:27:42.740
a decision like that, there are consequences that attach to it. You can't just decide that you're
00:27:47.180
going to refile at a later time. You can't just decide that, let me get through this discovery phase
00:27:52.000
and then I'll put this back on. Um, right. That's not how it works. Right. The law is supposed to
00:27:58.320
apply to everyone equally, but you know, some people, uh, some people believe it does. It should
00:28:03.400
not. What's happening to the extent you can tell us with Taylor Swift, because there was, um, some
00:28:11.940
reporting that you wanted to get the text messages between Blake Lively and Taylor, and that there was a
00:28:17.600
potential for subpoenaing, uh, Taylor Swift in this case via document subpoena to get her texts and
00:28:25.620
possibly even a deposition. And then, then that her father allegedly came to you and said, I will tell
00:28:32.320
you what's in the texts. And the reason I'll tell you is because Blake Lively's threatening my daughter,
00:28:37.680
Taylor Swift, that if she doesn't speak out on Blake Lively's behalf, uh, that Blake Lively is going
00:28:44.720
to retaliate in some way. So tell us what you can. Sure. Just out of respect for, you know, people that
00:28:52.240
aren't parties to the lawsuit. Um, there's not a whole lot that I can get into. Um, but you know,
00:29:00.660
I think that, that people who are relevant to the case and people who, um, you know, um, have otherwise
00:29:07.940
been with people from the beginning of the case, side by side, shoulder by shoulder, um, you know,
00:29:14.820
are, are, are, are potentially witnesses in the case. And, and so, um, you know, those are things
00:29:21.460
that, that we need to look into. Those are things to see, you know, what, in addition to what we know
00:29:26.940
already, um, we need and, um, and then to move forward and, and obtain that discovery. There's a short
00:29:33.680
leash on, on how far we can go with discovery. Um, I think the judge made, has made it very clear that,
00:29:39.940
you know, third parties need to be directly relevant to claims. Um, and we think certain
00:29:45.320
third parties are directly relevant, but it's just whether or not you need that evidence in addition
00:29:50.120
to what you have already. Hmm. Are you able to say whether you believe or have reason to allege
00:29:57.640
that Blake Lively threatened Taylor Swift if she did not come out and speak on Blake's, Blake's behalf?
00:30:03.680
It, the truth is, I, I, I don't think I should speak on it. Um, I think we should wait and see,
00:30:09.100
you know, have the evidence, um, you know, ferrets out on that. I think, you know, look, look, I think
00:30:15.260
we've all, you know, those who have looked at the timeline, those who have looked at all of the
00:30:22.660
documents that, that have been put forth, um, there's more video evidence. I mean, there's,
00:30:28.600
there's video of this whole, this is a film shoot, right? Like there's, there's,
00:30:33.160
there's filming of the film shoot, right? I mean, you, you know, Megan, you saw the scene,
00:30:38.040
um, you know, where they're dancing and, and everyone can judge for themselves again, you know,
00:30:44.600
dealing with, you know, we're dealing with people who look at a scene and say,
00:30:49.840
the sky is not blue. What do you mean? That blue is not blue. Um, and, and I think that
00:30:56.760
will forever be the case, but you know, fortunately she doesn't get to be a juror along with being,
00:31:03.000
you know, the plaintiff. So we'll, um, we'll, we'll have different people that'll be the jurors
00:31:09.260
and, um, hopefully they'll be able to see the sky's blue.
00:31:12.840
Well, how do you like your chances at trial? This case, put the counterclaims to the side
00:31:17.440
for the moment that you guys have against Blake. You will go to trial on her claims against Justin
00:31:24.320
if you guys don't settle. So how do you like your chances of prevailing in front of a jury
00:31:29.740
on those? Truth facts, both on our side. I mean, I love our case of prevailing on the truth
00:31:40.060
and the real facts of what happened. I mean, there's real time evidence in this case. I mean,
00:31:45.760
you heard Justin on the voice note, you heard what he was going through. Um, you, you know, we've,
00:31:52.400
we've seen the birthing video, right? That the screenshot that Jamie showed, uh, you know,
00:31:59.740
to Blake and, and didn't even play the video. I mean, it's, it's, it's there. Like, that's not
00:32:05.580
pornography. Um, you know, when you, you know, famous Supreme Court, you know, justice said, you
00:32:11.780
know, you'll know pornography when you see it. Um, I don't think a birthing scene where, where no one
00:32:17.540
is unclothed is pornography. I mean, you, you've seen her say that she, you know, had, you know,
00:32:24.340
was unclothed in, you know, with barely a patch on her. And, and we know there are, you know,
00:32:30.760
that she was wearing those shorts. Um, you know, you know, this stuff is not new. We've gone through
00:32:36.480
the facts and truth is on our side. The facts are on our side. I love, not like love our chances.
00:32:45.180
Hmm. What are the chances now, Brian, of a settlement in light of the ruling on her emotional
00:32:52.120
distress claims and the ruling on your defamation and related counterclaims?
00:32:58.080
Look from the beginning, you know, the, the chances of settlement were, were next to zero.
00:33:03.740
When you add the, the, the parties that are involved in this, you know, Justin, you know,
00:33:09.740
while he would have liked to get, you know, millions of dollars to compensate him for his
00:33:14.640
damages as a result of the defamation, um, that, that was always secondary to showing that there
00:33:22.060
was no sexual harassment. Um, that's it. I mean, when you're accused of something wrongfully,
00:33:29.020
when you, you know, have to prove your innocence in order to continue to work, um, there, there are
00:33:37.460
very little choices here. So he is going to go all the way and get that adjudication and fight this
00:33:44.860
fight, um, for ever. And whether that means appeals or anything else, he's going to make sure that the
00:33:52.980
world knows that he did not engage in sexual harassment, period, end of story.
00:34:00.360
Can you say that you're already there? I mean, I think there's a very strong argument to be made
00:34:05.380
that he's already won that battle. He's, she's Amber Heard in the eyes of at least half, if not
00:34:12.860
more of the country. This has been an interesting case because it didn't divide along left, right
00:34:17.520
lines. Um, this is much like Meghan Markle, uh, Blake Lively has managed to unite the right and the
00:34:24.980
left against her. Trust me. I know. Cause I hear from them. And I wonder to myself, Brian, whether
00:34:30.240
Justin's already won that victory and whether as a result, he's interested if the opportunity's
00:34:36.520
there anyway, and making the litigation just go away now. Right. Well, I, I don't think he's
00:34:43.100
won that battle, you know, yet. I think what he's done is he's put evidence out, um, and he's put
00:34:50.440
truth out and people have made their own determinations, which, you know, seemingly have only one, um,
00:34:57.520
determination that you can make if you've actually looked at the facts and the evidence.
00:35:02.160
Um, but I don't think he's, he's gotten that moment where, you know, where a court and a jury
00:35:08.000
of his peers say, no, no, no, this is not sexual harassment. And I don't think, look, I don't think
00:35:14.420
tag the PR team with Melissa Nathan and her team, their team of people that, that, that literally have
00:35:21.100
nothing to do with this. They're just, you know, individuals and, and Jen Abel, who's been just trashed
00:35:26.540
after, you know, taking her phone. And, um, I think these people want to be, um, absolved
00:35:34.140
on a public level from a jury of their peers. And I think it's really important that that happen,
00:35:40.760
especially when someone goes around, you know, making victory tours without, you know, without
00:35:47.180
regard to whatever the real result is. I mean, you saw, you saw victory tours when, when they
00:35:53.220
lost the emotional distress claims, right? Like you saw a victory tour then. So, you know, again,
00:35:59.820
people are showing you who they are, believe them.
00:36:03.760
So you, you say he's in it to the jury verdict.
00:36:10.540
Wow. Wow. That's not good for her. She's not going to want that. I think she already likely regrets
00:36:16.560
having started this hornet's nest as much as she wants to play the victim at the time, 100
00:36:20.240
and everywhere else. Let me, um, if I, if you don't mind, can I just ask you because you're
00:36:25.820
like the Waldo of litigation, Brian, your name comes up in cases. I didn't even know you
00:36:32.060
had a hand in. I'm just covering them as a reporter. I'm like, he's there too. Like the
00:36:36.480
Diddy trial where I think you were representing Capricorn Clark, one of the witnesses for the
00:36:43.560
prosecution who took the stand. And I just wonder, and maybe you can't say anything, but any thoughts
00:36:48.940
on how that trial is going? Um, you know, I have a lot of thoughts. It's, you know, it's,
00:36:57.100
it's, it's, it's, it's interesting, um, how the case is going. And, um, you know, I look, I think a
00:37:04.420
lot of things are really interesting. We're moving into a world of AI where, um, you're going to look
00:37:09.740
at a video. You could do it now and you're not going to know what's real or what's not real. I mean,
00:37:14.020
some of the news feeds that, that I see are, are, are inaccurate and not real. And, you know,
00:37:19.740
sometimes, you know, um, people do apologize for things. I think I was surprised that, that, um,
00:37:27.420
Diddy came out and apologized nationally, um, for the, the video in the hotel, um, where,
00:37:34.820
where he was brutally beating, you know, Cassie. And, um, and, and I think that changed the nature
00:37:40.540
of the case. The case then become, became about, okay, you know, I, I can be an abuser. I can,
00:37:46.920
you know, deal with domestic violence and getting into fights like that. But, you know, that's where
00:37:52.780
I draw the line. I don't drug or rape people and, and, you know, and, and do those. And, and I'm not
00:37:58.340
involved in an organized crime, you know, unit and things like that. And it'll be interesting to see
00:38:05.020
where that case ends up. Um, but, you know, Capricorn Clark is, is a credible person,
00:38:12.080
um, really truthful, really interesting. Um, and, um, and, you know, and, and look, I, you know,
00:38:18.340
I, all someone can ask for is a real jury of their peers to make a decision. And he's got,
00:38:23.800
he's got an opportunity to do that. He's got great lawyers, um, and he's got, you know, a good team
00:38:30.060
and, um, and the jury will make a decision based on what's happened in the courtroom. And, and,
00:38:35.820
and I don't know exactly what's happened. So I just read the papers like everyone else or hear from,
00:38:40.520
from friends that are lawyers are involved in the case, but I don't, I don't know. I don't know per
00:38:45.400
se. Capricorn did a good job in my opinion on the stand and she was important because she was his
00:38:52.220
assistant for years and testified that, uh, he brought her with him over to Kid Cudi's house when he
00:38:57.940
allegedly burgled it. And then, um, later is accused of having launched a Molotov cocktail
00:39:04.520
into it. And she, she provided a lot of the details that I'm sure it was scary to get up there and talk
00:39:09.260
about. All right. Last one. Menendez, you're in that too. Our friend, Mark Garagos comes on and
00:39:15.640
talks to me about it from time to time. And you're on the side of representing, I think some family
00:39:20.340
members of Jose Menendez who would like to see the boys released. Um, and it looks like things are,
00:39:27.040
they took one step closer to potentially getting them out, but what's happening with the Menendez
00:39:32.400
brothers. And do you think that they will be released early? Um, what, you know, what's
00:39:38.420
happening is that, that they have been resentenced, um, which is phenomenal. I mean, you know, rarely
00:39:44.700
do you see the 27 family members who are all on the side of enough is enough. Um, they should be
00:39:54.120
released, you know, rarely do you see that, um, that those, you know, remember the family members
00:39:59.040
aren't just family members of, you know, Lyle and Eric, they're family members of Jose and Kitty.
00:40:04.180
So they are victims and as victims, they, they say enough is enough. It's, it's time to release
00:40:10.240
them. Um, the judge, you know, Jessup, who is, is an incredible judge. Um, and he saw right through
00:40:17.700
all of this and, and, and resentence them. They have an opportunity now to go in front of the parole
00:40:22.740
board, um, which the, the, you know, which is going to happen in August and then we'll, we'll see what
00:40:28.820
happens from there. But I'm really optimistic for the family that they're going to have a chance to
00:40:33.820
have, you know, holiday meals, you know, maybe even spend, you know, you know, new year's day and
00:40:40.360
new year's Eve with their family and be together for the first time in over 35 years. And, um, and,
00:40:47.280
and I'm really hopeful that they have that opportunity. All right. What is more likely to
00:40:52.740
happen? Sean Combs gets acquitted. The Menendez brothers are home in time for new year's Eve
00:41:00.980
or Justin is found not liable in her case in chief against him for alleged sexual harassment.
00:41:10.360
Well, beyond question, Justin's going to be found not liable. So that's, you know,
00:41:15.820
that's going to happen at some point. You didn't put a timetable on that one, but, but they, they,
00:41:20.700
I truly believe that the Menendez brothers, um, could and will be out by January 1st. And, uh,
00:41:29.100
I'm hopeful of that. I'm hopeful for the family members. I, I, I really believe that they're going
00:41:34.700
to get, you know, their wish and, um, and, and that, you know, this family can start on a course
00:41:41.220
of, of repair. Wow. You're a busy man. Yeah. I'm, I love watching you. I love seeing you so
00:41:49.180
successful, Brian. Um, and I think Justin Baldoni has been very well served. I look forward to you
00:41:55.380
continuing to do exactly that. Thanks for coming on. You know, Megan, I, I am so happy with where you
00:42:02.320
are in your career and, and, you know, and where you are personally right now. It's, it's one of
00:42:07.700
the most special things I've ever been a part of in my entire career. Um, and, and I'm just like,
00:42:13.200
I am so grateful to be in a position to be able to help people who have suffered injustice. And,
00:42:18.500
and that's really important to me. And you, you just, you're a star and, and I love you truly.
00:42:27.780
Oh, thank you, Brian. And, you know, it's mutual. I love you. Doug loves you.
00:42:32.320
Um, Denise too. We all love you guys. And it's, it's one of those things where not only did you
00:42:37.340
help me out of the most challenging and awful chapter of my career, but, and I've talked to
00:42:44.560
so many of your other clients who say the same thing. You helped me believe in myself again.
00:42:48.960
You actually helped me believe there was a way back that this lowest moment would not define me,
00:42:54.420
that we were not going to let these bastards ruin everything. And I've seen you do that for so many
00:42:59.820
others, including Sage Steele and Mike Davis and the list goes on and on this. And to watch you now
00:43:05.360
doing it for Justin is so heartening. And it's one of the reasons why I believe, I believe it will
00:43:10.800
happen for him too. I don't think he's a wrongdoer. I don't think he's some evil person. I think she,
00:43:16.340
she has serious problems. That's my own opinion. She's got some real problems and she's working
00:43:20.240
them out on him publicly. So thank God he has you. Hey, so I do want to tell you, Doug says hi
00:43:26.060
and, uh, was thrilled that we were doing, that we're doing this. And, uh, just again, thanks for
00:43:31.140
doing it. I know you're not given a lot of these and I'm always grateful. Well, you know what? Doug's
00:43:35.380
phenomenal. You know, Doug is my role model as a husband. So, um, that's, that's why I love him.
00:43:43.000
He's still crushing it. In fact, just over my, um, my laptop computer, I was watching Doug go into
00:43:48.060
the ocean with Yates. Doug's living his best life right now, Brian. He's living, he's not dealing
00:43:52.720
with 12 B six motions. He's having a great time. No, but he's a talented author and that's, you know,
00:43:57.380
that can be just as hard as 12 B six motions. True, true. Next one's coming out soon. All right.
00:44:03.720
Much love. See you soon. I hope. Thank you. Brian Friedman, everyone, the one and only man,
00:44:09.760
if you get in a jam, that's the man to call for all sorts of reasons. Incredible lawyer, even better man.
00:44:15.900
Um, just an honor to have him on and to know him. Okay. I made it 24 hours into my vacation,
00:44:22.800
not even without having to come back on. I, it's always a possibility. And I bring this whole setup
00:44:29.220
with me. I mean, right now I'm in like our little hotel bedroom. I've got my mic, which I travel with.
00:44:35.240
I've got my little computer. I've got my laptop and I don't know, whatever radar is my tech guy. He
00:44:42.260
sends me with a bunch of stuff just in case, just in case. Then I talked to Brian and he said, he'd do
00:44:46.980
it. And he, you know, he hasn't talked to anybody about this. He gave like one paper statement to a
00:44:50.480
couple of media outlets and I've been dying to hear his thoughts. So anyway, um, thank you for coming
00:44:57.100
back with us. You heard my legal analysis of this case, my own personal legal analysis earlier and on
00:45:03.460
a separate program that we dropped right before this one in our feed. And now you heard Brian's, um,
00:45:07.740
take on it and also his plans. I mean, really there was a lot of news in there, full steam ahead,
00:45:13.400
right to verdict, no settlement discussions. They're not interested in settling. Uh, and that
00:45:18.940
Blake Lively could be getting deposed as soon as June. And he left the door open for a Ryan,
00:45:24.800
Ryan Reynolds. And if you listen to carefully, potentially a Taylor Swift deposition there too.
00:45:29.860
So, uh, it's not over, not by a long shot. He does not think that Justin Baldoni has been
00:45:34.940
served the righteous verdict in the public opinion that he deserves, nor have the other
00:45:43.180
defendants. You know, there are, he was mentioning the PR people who were helping Justin when this
00:45:46.820
was bubbling up into a PR crisis and they were still shooting the movie. And those two have been
00:45:51.100
very attacked, very much attacked by Blake Lively and her team and the times for that matter. Uh,
00:45:56.540
and I'm sure they would like their day in court. So in any event, this thing will keep going.
00:45:59.860
And, uh, right now they have a trial date. I believe it's March of 26. So we shall see.
00:46:07.560
Will she, if it's going to settle before that, I don't know how. I don't think Justin Baldoni
00:46:12.620
will be paying any money to her. And I don't think she wants to walk away because that telegraphs
00:46:17.400
the wrong thing. So stay tuned. Okay. I'm going back to vacay. I don't think I'll be seeing you
00:46:23.800
immediately. Let's hope. Cause I, I actually would like to do some swimming and see the fam. So
00:46:30.080
lots of love to you guys too. And, uh, I'll see you soon. Bye.
00:46:37.340
Thanks for listening to the Megan Kelly show. No BS, no agenda, and no fear.
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