Blake Lively is forced to answer tough questions about It Ends with Us after bold legal move

Daily Mail​

17 hours ago

In the latest phase in the litigation surrounding last summer's hit romantic drama It Ends with Us, a date has been set for Blake Lively to answer questions asked by the attorneys of her costar in the film, Justin Baldoni.
An email sent July 2 stated that the deposition for Lively, who shares four children with husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, is set for July 17.
The details were uncovered as part of a request for a one-week extension after attorneys for Lively, 37, subpoenaed a pair of publicists employed by Baldoni, 41; an attorney for the publicists then subsequently filed the motion, People reported Monday.
The Gossip Girl alum, who with Reynolds was dismissed from Baldoni's $400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit nearly a month ago, is tentatively slated to take the stand when the trial begins in New York City in March 2026.
The deposition is slated to take place in New York City, insiders confirmed to TMZ, but it was unclear where. Insiders with Lively told the outlet she was prepared to face a series of difficult inquiries; and that Reynolds isn't expected to attend.
Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Lively and Baldoni for further comment on the story.
Baldoni lawyer Bryan Freedman spoke with TMZ Live June 10 - a day after a New York City judge scuttled a $400 million suit Baldoni filed accusing Lively and spouse Ryan Reynolds of defamation and extortion.
The lawyer admitted that while he and the Baldoni camp 'weren't pleased that that the judge dismissed the defamation claim, ' it wasn't 'what the case is about.'
The attorney then recapped the series of events that led to the massive litigation surrounding the surprise summer hit.
'We got started because Blake Lively filed a CRD complaint and then walked over and filed a lawsuit,' he said, 'which accused some very good people of a smear campaign and accused a terrific young man of sexual harassment - both of the which were completely untrue.'
'And that's where the case got started' and 'where the case stands today.'
'What we wanted our win is to show there was no smear campaign, and there's no sexual harassment,' Freedman explained. 'And she hasn't proved a thing - as a matter of fact, it's just the opposite.'
Freedman told TMZ Live that evidence presented in the early stages of litigation has been damning for Lively and Reynolds.
'Look at the facts, look at what's been shown, look at the receipts, look at the video,' said the lawyer.
Freedman told the outlet that proving the claims Lively made to be false has always been the chief focus for Baldoni's team, 'in addition to getting damages.'
He said he was hoping Lively didn't 'drop her lawsuit ... because she's on a false victory tour, and she's afraid of the truth.
'The truth is, you know, going to be shown through depositions, which is what's going to be next, I've noticed her deposition - it's set in June - we're going to see if she's going to appear at that deposition or not,' Freedman said. 'And we're gonna proceed forward with the case, and we're gonna show that there was no sexual harassment, and we're gonna show that there was no smear campaign.'
The actress on Monday released a powerful statement on June 9, hours after a judge dismissed Baldoni's case.
'Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organizations united in defending women's rights to speak up for their safety,' Lively said on Instagram. 'Like so many others, I've felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us.'
The Los Angeles-born star continued: 'While the suit against me was defeated, so many don't have the resources to fight back.'
Lively vowed that she was 'more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman's right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.'
Lively wrapped up in thanking those in the public who have supported her amid the turbulent past year.
'With love and gratitude for the many who stood by me, many of you I know,' Lively said. 'Many of you I don't. But I will never stop appreciating or advocating for you.'
The It Ends With Us actress, whose legal battle has had a significant impact on her friendship with Taylor Swift, added a list of groups that had publicly supported her amid the highly-publicized Tinseltown tussle.
Among them, in alphabetical order, were the California Employment Lawyers Association, California Women's Law Center, CHILD USA, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, Equal Rights Advocates, Esperanza United, Her Justice, and Herunivercity Inc.
In a move that might have been a harbinger of changing momentum in the case, Lively took aim at Baldoni Thursday, saying that women's groups had abandoned him in droves.
A total of '19 leading survivors and organizations devoted to women's rights, children's rights and domestic violence have now signed onto four separate amicus briefs,' a spokesperson for the Another Simple Favor actress told Daily Mail in a statement.
The statement continued: 'All are united in opposing Justin Baldoni's attempt to dismantle a law designed to protect women who speak up — simply to protect himself.'
Lively's team said that Baldoni was going against his own playbook as the complicated legal case progresses, leaving himself open to increased scrutiny in the wake of his past public statements.
'Rather than defend his case on the facts, Baldoni is now contradicting years of his own public persona - abandoning the message of his #MeToo YouTube 's, podcasts, TED Talks, and interviews, where he once upon a time urged men 'to listen to the women in your life … to hold their anguish and actually believe them, even if what they're saying is against you,' Lively's rep said.
The statement wrapped up: 'These women and organizations are sounding the alarm about his DARVO tactics, and the chilling effect they could have well beyond this case.'
One party that can breathe a sigh of relief after Baldoni's lawsuit was thrown out is Marvel Entertainment, LLC.
Baldoni had subpoenaed the studio to get it to preserve any documents related to the Deadpool & Wolverine character Nicepool, which his legal team claimed was designed 'to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate or bully' Baldoni.
But after throwing out Baldoni's lawsuit, Liman agreed to Marvel's request to 'quash the subpoena issued to Marvel from [Baldoni's] Wayfarer Parties and for a protective order prohibiting the disclosure of Marvel's confidential documents.'
Baldoni's team had send a letter requesting documents be retained to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Bob Iger, CEO of its parent company Walt Disney, on January 7.
Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment in a lawsuit; while Baldoni accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane of defamation and extortion in a $400 million suit - the latter of which was dismissed Monday.
Baldoni has denied the allegations brought about by Lively, while Lively, Reynolds and Sloane have denied the accusations made in litigation by Baldoni.
Lively in December sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture. In her lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways — including body shaming her — and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.
The star of films such as The Town and The Shallows posted a statement to her Instagram Stories amid the momentous legal proceedings June 9
Baldoni and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture.
In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni's collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio's CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.
Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled '"We Can Bury Anyone": Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine ;' the newspaper has denied the allegations.
Baldoni on January 16 filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging defamation and extortion. Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted 'false accusations of sexual harassment' against him.
In the film based off Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel, Lively portrayed florist Lily Bloom opposite Baldoni who played the role of Ryle Kincaid.