Blake Lively‘s attorney, Mike Gottlieb, has opened up about who is set to take the stand in his client’s upcoming trial involving her It Ends with Us costar Justin Baldoni.
On Thursday, the actress’s attorney confirmed that his client, 37, is prepared to speak under oath in court.
In response to whether Lively will testify, Gottlieb confirmed she would, as expected, ‘be a witness at her trial.’
‘The ultimate moment for a plaintiff’s story to be told is at trial. We expect that to be the case here [with Lively],’ he told People. ‘Of course she’s going to testify.’
Amid speculation that some of Lively’s closest friends, like Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman, may be subpoenaed, Gottlieb said ‘it’s completely unclear what claims or defenses in the case any of these celebrities… have any relevance to at all.’
‘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 explained.
Blake Lively ‘s attorney, Mike Gottlieb, has opened up about who is set to take the stand in his client’s upcoming trial involving her It Ends with Us costar Justin Baldoni
Gottlieb went on to point out: ‘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. And the federal courts don’t tolerate that kind of behavior.’
At this time, he explained it is uncertain if Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, will testify as he is currently named as a defendant in Baldoni’s countersuit.
Lively’s team is working to get those claims dismissed.
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman hit back at Gottlieb’s remarks and accused him of trying to deflect from the case.
‘Although obviously uncomfortable for the Lively parties, the truth is not a distraction,’ Freedman told People in a statement. ‘The truth has been clearly shown through unedited receipts, documents and real life footage. More to come.’
Freedman continued: ‘Blake was the one who brought her high-profile friends into this situation without concern for their own personal or public backlash. As the truth shows, she used her dragons to manipulate Justin at every turn.’
Freedman’s final remark was a nod to Lively’s alleged text messages to Baldoni, in which she referred to Swift and Reynolds ‘dragons.’
In the alleged texts, she compared herself to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones and explained ‘for better or worse’ her ‘dragons’ protect what she fights for.
On Thursday, the actress’s attorney confirmed that his client, 37, is prepared to speak under oath in court and ‘be a witness at her trial’ (seen last month)
In regards to Reynolds’ alleged misconduct, Freedman claimed: ‘Ryan’s involvement is very well documented and we continue to discover more intentional misconduct. Was Disney actually complicit in Ryan using shareholder revenues to further a personal grudge? I would be surprised to learn that this type of corporate waste would not lead to much more exposure for those that have been complicit in affecting shareholder revenue.’
In December, Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against, before officially filing a federal lawsuit just weeks later.
That same month, Lively sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture. In her lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alumna accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways — including body shaming her — and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.
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’s attorney Bryan Freedman hit back at Gottlieb’s remarks and accused him of trying to deflect from the case; Baldoni seen in 2024
‘I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,’ Lively told The New York Times the day after she filed the complaint.
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.
Since Lively’s complaint was filed, Baldoni has faced a number of professional consequences, including a lawsuit from a former publicist; and being dropped by the agency WME, which also reps Lively and Reynolds.
WME has denied claims that Lively and Reynolds leaned on them to release Baldoni from their client roster, according to Variety.
Lawyers for both parties were in accordance with a plan to compound both federal cases filed into one moving forward.
In December, Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against, before officially filing a federal lawsuit just weeks later (seen in the 2024 It Ends With Us film)
It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences. The film, adapted from the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel, earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
Lively broke out with the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants opposite Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera. That led to her high-profile role on the TV show Gossip Girl, which she starred on from 2007-2012, playing lead character Serena van der Woodsen.
She has also appeared in movies such as 2010’s The Town, 2016’s The Shallows, 2018’s A Simple Favor and 2020’s The Rhythm Section.
Prior to It Ends with Us, Baldoni was best known for playing the role of Rafael Solano on the TV show Jane the Virgin from 2014–2019. He also has directed films including 2019’s Five Feet Apart and 2020’s Clouds, and penned the 2021 book Man Enough, which tackled misconceptions of contemporary masculinity.
