Justin Baldoni Claims Blake Lively's Using Her 'Celebrity Status' to Gain Upper Hand Before Face-to-Face Interrogation
Blake Lively is not interested in having her deposition in a place she's not comfortable with.
July 14 2025, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
The Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively drama continues to take twists and turns, as this time, the It Ends With Us director is accusing his former co-star of trying to use her A-list status to gain a major upper hand before her deposition, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Lively recently begged a judge to let her have her deposition, set to kick off on Thursday, July 17, at her lawyer's office due to fears paparazzi will be a nuisance, but Baldoni's team isn't buying it at all.
Too Famous For This?
Lively claims she's so famous she needs to have her deposition at her lawyer's child.
The actor's lawyers argued Lively has zero proof she will be hunted down by eager paparazzi, and added offices of both sides are one mile from each other, according to a legal filing.
Baldoni's team also made clear that if the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants star was to have her deposition on her home turf, they would be put at a disadvantage without their own space to discuss private matters.
"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," Baldoni's attorneys said.
'This Is A Serious Matter'
The actress claims paparazzi will be drowning her and she needs to have her deposition on her home turf.
Lively is using her status as a celebrity to shake things up, according to Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, who accused the movie star of trying to make her disposition just like a Hollywood event.
Freedman previously said in a statement: "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," he concluded.
The movie star is suing Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment.
In December 2024, Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni and also sued his publicists for allegedly orchestrating a subsequent smear campaign against her.
Baldoni would respond with his own $400million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
However, things unraveled for Baldoni in June 2025, when his lawsuit was tossed out by a judge. Baldoni's $250million defamation lawsuit against the New York Times was also dismissed.
"As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it," Lively's team said at the time.
Will The Trial Even Happen?
Baldoni's $400million countersuit was tossed out by a judge.
As for the fallout for Baldoni, a source called it a "disaster."
"Justin thought he could silence Blake with a massive lawsuit; instead, she just shut him down in court," an insider told Hollywood insider Rob Shuter for his Substack.
While the duo's trial is set for March 2026, celebrity lawyer Christopher Melcher doesn't even think they will make it to that date.
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"I see no realistic chance that this case will ever go to trial," he said. "Justin has very little claims left that are allowed based on this ruling, and Blake can't seek emotional distress damages."
Melcher continued: "They have inflicted damaging wounds against the other (and) the only thing they have to show for it are big legal bills... It's really now in their hands to settle, and that might be what the judge is hoping to do through these rulings."
