Blake Lively will testify in Justin Baldoni trial, lawyer reveals in first interview

New York Post

08-05-2025

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Blake Lively's attorney has revealed that the 37-year-old Hollywood starlet will testify in next year's trial against her 'It Ends With Us' co-star Justin Baldoni.
'Yes,' Lively's lawyer, Mike Gottlieb, confirmed to People during his first interview about the case on Thursday. 'The ultimate moment for a plaintiff's story to be told is at trial. We expect that to be the case here.'
'So we would, of course, expect her to be a witness at her trial,' he added. 'Of course she's going to testify.'
11 Blake Lively leaving 'Late Night with Seth Meyers' on May 1, 2025.
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11 Justin Baldoni in Hawaii on March 28, 2025.
Clint Brewer Photography / WCP / BACKGRID
Questions regarding whether Lively would testify at the upcoming trial against Baldoni, 41, began last month after the actress' speech at the Time100 Gala.
'I have so much to say about the last two years of my life,' she said at the time, 'but tonight is not the forum.'
Plus, Lively's lawyer revealed that the 'Gossip Girl' alum would not be the only one to take the stand when the legal battle against Baldoni goes to trial in March 2026.
11 Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively on the set of 'It Ends with Us' on January 12, 2024.
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11 Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in 'It Ends With Us.'
©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
'There are individuals that were witnesses to or experienced misconduct that is relevant to Ms. Lively's claims,' Gottlieb explained. 'We expect their testimony, particularly about what took place on set, will come out through live witness testimony.'
The first step of the lengthy legal process will begin with discovery, in which both parties will question all those involved in the controversial matter.
'In discovery, they'll have an opportunity to ask Ms. Lively questions,' Gottlieb noted. 'Likewise, we will have the opportunity to take the depositions of the defendants.'
11 Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni filming another scene for 'It Ends With Us' in January 2024.
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11 Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively discussing a scene on the set of 'It Ends With Us' in January 2024.
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Besides witness testimony, Lively's legal team plans to present alleged 'evidence' relating to sexual harassment and smear campaign accusations against Baldoni. Statements and documents from Sony Pictures and the 'It Ends With Us' producers will also reportedly be presented.
Gottlieb further claimed that 'there have been a lot of distractions' taking attention away from the 'core of the case' and Lively's initial allegations against her former director.
'There have been a lot of distractions put up to deflect attention from the retaliation campaign that was launched against her,' he argued.
11 Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, at the premiere of 'It Ends With Us' in August 2024.
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11 The 'Gossip Girl' alum and Ryan Reynolds in New York City on April 29, 2025.
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'And we expect and hope that in discovery we'll have an opportunity to really focus on what we believe to be the core part of the case,' Lively's attorney added, 'which is that this retaliation campaign was launched against Ms. Lively for her having raised concerns about sexual harassment.'
Whether Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, and other A-list celebrities like Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman will be called to testify is still uncertain.
Reynolds, 48, is currently named as a defendant in Baldoni's $400 million countersuit against Lively. The 'It Ends With Us' director's legal team has also suggested that Swift, 35, and Jackman, 56, may be subpoenaed.
11 Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in another scene from 'It Ends With Us.'
©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
'It's completely unclear what claims or defenses in the case any of these celebrities have any relevance to at all,' Gottlieb said. 'This is a case about what happened to Blake Lively when she raised claims of sexual harassment on the set.'
'It's not a case about how songs were chosen for the movie. It's not a case about fictional Marvel characters in 'Deadpool' movies,' he continued. 'You have to ask the question, then, why are these people being subpoenaed? Do they have any actual relevance to the case at hand?'
'You can't just go around subpoenaing people because they're famous and you think it will generate a bunch of headlines,' Lively's lawyer concluded. 'And the federal courts don't tolerate that kind of behavior.'
11 Justin Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has fired back at the remarks made by Blake Lively's attorney.
Gregory P. Mango
Baldoni's attorney has since fired back at Gottlieb's comments.
'Although obviously uncomfortable for the Lively parties, the truth is not a distraction,' the director's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told People on Thursday. 'The truth has been clearly shown through unedited receipts, documents and real life footage. More to come.'
'Blake was the one who brought her high-profile friends into this situation without concern for their own personal or public backlash,' he added. 'As the truth shows, she used her Dragons to manipulate Justin at every turn.'
Lively and Baldoni's legal feud began in December when the 'A Simple Favor' star filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and others.
11 The 'It Ends With Us' co-stars' trial is scheduled for March 2026.
Christopher Peterson / SplashNews.com
She alleged that Baldoni sexually harassed her on set and then launched a 'coordinated effort to destroy her reputation.'
Baldoni denied the allegations and later countersued Lively and Reynolds for $400 million over alleged defamation and extortion — accusations they also denied.
A trial date has since been scheduled for March 2026.