Blake Lively will be taking the stand against Justin Baldoni in March 2026 trial, shares her lawyer
Blake Lively is owning her narrative.
The Another Simple Favor actor and Gossip Girl alum, during a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, made the first straightforward public acknowledgement of her long-standing tussle with former collaboraor Justin Baldoni. And now, her legal counsel is making it known that Blake will in fact, continue to speak up for herself, even in court: "Yes. 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. Of course she's going to testify", said her lawyer Mike Gottlieb in an exclusive byte to PEOPLE.
Additionally, Blake isn't the only one who'll be taking the stand. Mike elaborated, "There are individuals that were witnesses to or experienced misconduct that is relevant to Ms. Lively's claims. We expect their testimony, particularly about what took place on set, will come out through live witness testimony". That being said, it is unclear if husband Ryan Reynolds will be taking the stand as well.
Mike also made it known that the overflow of public conjecture surrounding the case is actually isolating the core aspects that instead deserve attention. He added, "We think there have been a lot of distractions put up to deflect attention from the retaliation campaign that was launched against he. 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, which is that this retaliation campaign was launched against Ms. Lively for her having raised concerns about sexual harassment".
Blake and Justin had previously collaborated on the doomed 2024 film It Ends With Us, the official adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel. Following the film's release, Blake filed a lawsuit against Justin and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, alleging sexual harassment and claiming he initiated a preemptive smear campaign. Justin denied the accusations and responded with a $400 million countersuit against Blake, her husband Ryan, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and her agency Vision PR, Inc., alleging defamation, civil extortion, and other charges. The trial is scheduled for March 2026.
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