James Brolin weighs in on Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal drama with surprise remark

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

Barbra Streisand 's husband James Brolin vocalized his support for Justin Baldoni amid his heated legal feud with Blake Lively.
Six months after the Gossip Girl star, 37, accused her It Ends With Us co-star and director of sexual harassment and retaliation, which Baldoni, 41, vehemently denies, Brolin, 84, addressed the allegations against his former colleague.
'I don't understand what's going on right now, but I hope it works out,' the Marcus Welby, M.D. star told People of the pair's legal war.
Brolin developed a close friendship with Baldoni after directing him in the 2011 short film Royal Reunion.
'He asked so many questions, he was so helpful,' the actor said of his time on set with the Jane the Virgin star. 'But I didn't realize he was learning, because very soon after that, this guy's directing his own stuff.'
Brolin continued: 'I'm so proud of Justin Baldoni because God, he's written two wonderful books on being a man and being courteous and teaching boys not to fear their fears — and now he's directed three movies.'
Brolin went on to marvel over how Baldoni 'started off [his directing career] with one episode of Jane the Virgin' and has gone up to direct multiple pictures, in addition to becoming an author and doing 'TED talks to help people.'
Baldoni portayed Nicky in Brolin's short, a heart-warming film about a multi-generational family who sets sail to celebrate the parents' 40th Anniversary.
The Wayfarer Studios co-founder and Lively's lawsuit has divided Hollywood, with stars like Lively's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel, coming to her defense.
Amber Heard, Amy Schumer,Shawn Levy, A Simple Favor director Paul Feig, Jenny Slate, Lively's brother-in-law, Bart Johnson and her sister Robyn Lively have also backed the mother-of-four as well during her ongoing legal saga.
Brolin's remark comes after Lively was granted the request to pick the location of her deposition by a judge on Monday.
According to Variety, after her lawyers argued that Baldoni's attorneys were trying to turn the proceeding into a media spectacle.
The wife of Ryan Reynolds is set to be deposed in New York on Thursday in her legal battle against Baldoni.
Baldoni's side requested for the deposition to be held at the Park Avenue offices of Meister Seelig & Fein, one of the firms handling his case.
However, Lively's team objected to the location in a motion last week, claiming they feared a media ambush and Lively being swarmed by paparazzi on her way in and out of the building.
Baldoni pushed back on her claim by accusing her of trying to use her 'celebrity status' to gain an upper hand in the proceedings.
Lively's team also raised concerns that Baldoni would invite social media influencers to be present at the deposition, which is intended to be confidential.
On Monday, Judge Lewis Liman approved for the deposition to be held at a different location, which has been redacted in the public version of the motion.
Lively's lawyers also asked for Baldoni's side to provide a list of everyone who will be attending.
Liman granted the request, with Baldoni's team instructed that they need to provide the list by noon on Tuesday.
The judge also instructed Lively's team to provide printing and copying facilities for Baldoni's lawyers.
In a moment of snark, Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman previously told TMZ that Lively's deposition should be live-streamed to an audience at Madison Square Garden.
Freedman's suggestion, which Lively's attorney shot down at the time as a publicity-seeking distraction, would be to sell tickets to the event and donate the proceeds to domestic violence victims.
Lively's team argued that Freedman's remarks demonstrated he couldn't be trusted to keep things professional if the deposition occurred at the place of his choosing.
Mitchell Schuster, one of Baldoni's lawyers, dismissed the concern as unfounded, adding that holding the deposition somewhere else would be inconvenient for his team.
In a moment of snark, Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, previously said that Lively's deposition should be live-streamed to an audience at Madison Square Garden; pictured in May
The two sides are preparing to face off in court after they clashed while filming It Ends With Us last year.
After Lively claimed that Baldoni's side would try to make the deposition into a 'public spectacle', the filmmaker hit back by arguing, via his lawyer, that Blake has not supported her claim with evidence.
According to TMZ, Baldoni's defense team believes holding the deposition at Lively's lawyer's office puts them at a disadvantage.
Justin's lawyer cited the potential need to consult with his hundreds of pages of notes and to use a conference room to speak in private.
Baldoni's side wrote in the filing, 'Although Lively's foot-stomping and use of her celebrity status may have enabled her to seize control of the film, which is the crux of this dispute, her counsel's tantrum has no place in this Court. Lively is bound by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure like every litigant.'
The parties have currently agreed to conduct the deposition on July 17, though recent legal filings indicate that the two sides have been in conflict over discovery requirements.
In emails between Lively and Baldoni's attorneys that were entered into the record, Lively's lawyers accused Baldoni's team of failing to mail hard drives of evidence to them in a timely manner, which would make it difficult for the Gossip Girl star and her team to examine any documents or videos the defendants may refer to when questioning her.
Her legal team also expressed concern in the new filings that Baldoni may hope to have her paraded in front of paparazzi and gawkers if the deposition is held in a less-private location.
In a statement to TMZ, Lively's representative said: 'Ms. Lively is looking forward to her deposition next week, and it should follow the same rules as every other witness in this case.