Showbiz

EXCLUSIVEJustin Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman’s home burned down in Palisades Fire amid ongoing legal battles

EXCLUSIVEJustin Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman’s home burned down in Palisades Fire amid ongoing legal battles

The attorney who is representing It Ends with Us actor-director Justin Baldoni, amid multiple legal battles involving the film’s star Blake Lively, lost his home in the Palisades Fire.

Bryan Freedman confirmed to Dailymail.com in an email Tuesday that his home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire, which officials said has destroyed 1,280 total structures.

Freedman’s most recent public appearance on Baldoni’s behalf came on Tuesday, January 7 – the day before the wildfire erupted in an area southeast of Palisades Drive.

Variety initially reported Tuesday that Freedman ‘was believed to be one of the many industry figures whose home was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire.’

Freedman and his wife Denise had resided at the $5.5 million Pacific Palisades home ‘since the early 2000s,’ according to a June 2024 profile in The Hollywood Reporter. 

Freedman joins an expansive list of people in the entertainment industry who lost their homes in the Palisades Fire, which also includes actor-director Billy Crystal, actresses Anna Faris, Leighton Meester and Ricki Lake, and reality stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag. 

Bryan Freedman, the attorney who is representing It Ends with Us actor-director Justin Baldoni, amid multiple legal battles involving the film's star Blake Lively, lost his home in the Palisades Fire. Pictured in LA in October

Bryan Freedman, the attorney who is representing It Ends with Us actor-director Justin Baldoni, amid multiple legal battles involving the film’s star Blake Lively, lost his home in the Palisades Fire. Pictured in LA in October 

An aerial view of fire trucks, utility, and other vehicles parked along Pacific Coast Highway near homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire on Monday

An aerial view of fire trucks, utility, and other vehicles parked along Pacific Coast Highway near homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire on Monday

Freedman – who also has represented celebrities such as FKA Twigs, Bethenny Frankel, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Lynn Spears, Don Lemon, Tucker Carlson and Chris Cuomo – had made numerous media appearances since the start of the new year on Baldoni’s behalf. 

Lively has claimed in a lawsuit that the actor-director Sєxually harᴀssed her while making It Ends With Us. 

Read More Hollywood stars whose homes have burned to the ground as devastating LA wildfires destroy California article image

Baldoni – who has denied all of the claims against him in Lively’s legal filing – has sued The New York Times for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story тιтled ‘”We Can Bury Anyone”: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.’

On Tuesday, January 7, the first day the fires broke out, Freedman made a virtual appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show in which he challenged Lively’s spouse Ryan Reynolds, 48, on the creation of a ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool character called Nicepool.

He said, ‘What Ryan Reynolds has seemingly done is use his power and influence … on ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and to make fun of Justin Baldoni.’

Freedman said that Reynolds addressing grievances with Baldoni with a comedy sketch undercuts the credibility of Sєxual harᴀssment claims Lively, 37, has made in her lawsuit against the filmmaker.

‘If your wife is Sєxually harᴀssed, you don’t make fun of Justin Baldoni; you don’t make fun of the situation – you take it very seriously,’ said Freeman. ‘What you don’t do is mock the person and turn it into a joke.’

The lawyer said the proper protocol of addressing the serious situation would be to ‘file HR complaints [and] raise the issue and follow a legal process,’ adding that ‘if someone is Sєxually harᴀssed, you don’t make fun of it – it’s a serious issue.’

Bryan Freedman confirmed to Dailymail.com in an email Tuesday that his home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire, which officials said has destroyed 1,280 total structures Baldoni, 40, pictured last month in LA

Bryan Freedman confirmed to Dailymail.com in an email Tuesday that his home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire, which officials said has destroyed 1,280 total structures 

Freedman said that traits shown by the Nicepool character was a clear joke at Baldoni's expense in an effort to humiliate the actor-director

Freedman said that traits shown by the Nicepool character was a clear joke at Baldoni’s expense in an effort to humiliate the actor-director 

Freedman said that traits shown by the Nicepool character was a clear joke at Baldoni’s expense in an effort to humiliate the actor-director.

‘There’s no question it relates to Justin,’ Freedman said. ‘I mean anybody that can watch that – the hair bun, you know, the comment about the pregnancy – it’s pretty obvious what’s being done.’

Freedman also that day sent a correspondence to a two entertainment executives and a director urging them to save their materials in regard to Reynolds and the Nicepool character in relation to Baldoni.  

Eight people have died in the Palisades Fire, while three people were injured, the agency said, as the cause of the wildfire remains under probe; officials said 25 people total have died as result of the wind-fueled fires in the greater Los Angeles area. 

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that those numbers are sadly expected to increase, as almost 30 people remain missing. 

As of Tuesday, the fire scorched more than 23,713 acres, with 17 percent containment, according to Cal Fire.

A firefighter battled the Palisades Fire as it burned homes on Pacific Coast Highway January 8

A firefighter battled the Palisades Fire as it burned homes on Pacific Coast Highway January 8

CalFire Operations Section Chief Christian Litz said that firefighters were progressing in their efforts to douse the Palisades Fire, as he said that he did not witness any ongoing fires during a helicopter ride earlier Tuesday, according to the AP.

A total of 15 investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Response Team have been dispatched to Southern California to probe what started the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly and destructive blaze, the agency said Monday.

‘The NRT brings a wealth of experience and expertise to these types of investigations,’ Brice McCracken, ATF Special Agent in Charge, National Center for Explosives Training and Research. said in a statement.

He added the agency is ‘committed to working closely with our partners to determine the origin and cause of the Pacific Palisades Fire.’

On Monday, President Joe Biden urged Congress ‘to step up’ and earmark the tens of billions of dollars it will take to rebuild the affected areas. He said that the federal government plans to pay for expenses over the next 180 days.

The president said at the White House that firefighters and first responders were ‘the angels’ amid their efforts to douse the blazes, while Vice President Kamala Harris said the aftermath of the fires were ‘truly heartbreaking.’

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