Blake Lively scored a major win in her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni when his $400 million lawsuit against her was tossed out. Yet the It Ends with Us stars’ legal conflict is still in flux, and Lively is set to give testimony in the coming days. There’s been a question, however, of where that deposition will be delivered, as both camps have different thoughts on the location. Baldoni’s lawyer previously stated that Lively should speak her piece during a livestreamed presentation, and the actress has now issued a response.
It was Bryan Freedman, Justin Baldoni’s attorney, who suggested that Blake Lively present her deposition at Madison Square Garden as part of a viral event. Freedman argued that not only should the testimony be streamed but that tickets should be sold as well, with the proceeds donated to organizations that benefit victims of domestic abuse. Lively’s team filed a motion, though, asking that the judge issue a protective order that will enable her to testify at a redacted location. Her reps also released as statement on the matter:
Ms. Lively is looking forward to her deposition next week, and it should follow the same rules as every other witness in this case. Justin Baldoni’s lawyer has tried to make this matter a public spectacle at every turn, even proposing to sell tickets to a televised deposition at Madison Square Garden. This is a serious matter of sexual harassment and retaliation and it deserves to be treated as such.
Additionally, the Another Simple Favor star is requesting that anyone who attends the deposition should be identified ahead of time, according to People. On the whole, the A-lister and her team believes this filing to be a “reasonable request,” as they believe it would “prevent the risk of annoyance, harassment, and verbal or physical threats.” Through the filing, the group seems to indicate that it would avoid any kind of spectacle in these proceedings:
The high-profile nature of this litigation, and the nature of Ms. Lively’s retaliation claims, demonstrates a substantial risk of the deposition turning into a publicity event and potentially attracting interested individuals who could pose security risks.
Blake Lively initially filed a legal complaint against Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios (his production company) and more in late 2024, at which point she accused him of committing sexual harassment on the set of It Ends with Us. Additionally, Lively claimed that her co-star/director launched a smear campaign against her with the help of a PR team. Baldoni vehemently denied the allegations and sued the New York Times, which broke the news on the claims, for libel. After Lively later sued Baldoni for the aforementioned allegations, he countersued her, her husband (Ryan Reynolds) and more for extortion and defamation.
The fallout from the Lively/Baldoni case has been linked to a few notable developments. Chief among them is the closing of the Wayfarer Foundation, of which Baldoni was a board member. On a more personal level, insiders claimed that the ongoing legal battle put a strain on Lively’s friendship with Taylor Swift, who was dragged into the drama in multiple respects. Per the most recent batch of claims on the two stars’ dynamic, the rift between Swift and Lively will allegedly remain.
All the while, Blake Lively will continue to navigate her legal situation, as her deposition is set to take place on Thursday, July 17. When it comes to the location, there’s no indication as to what will be decided upon, though TMZ reports that Lively wants it to be held at her lawyer’s office. Justin Baldoni’s legal team has yet to provide a formal response to the motion from Lively’s team, as of this writing.
