Justin Baldoni’s lawyer has argued that his It Ends with Us co-star, Blake Lively, should give a deposition at Madison Square Garden in a pay-per-view event.
Baldoni and Lively are involved in several legal actions related to her claim that she was sexually harassed by the director during production of the film, and his claim that she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, attempted to destroy his career.
Speaking to People, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, said: “Since Ms. Lively is open to testifying, let’s make it count.
“Hold the deposition at MSG, sell tickets or stream it, and donate every dollar to organizations helping victims of domestic abuse.”
Freedman has confirmed that Baldoni will take the stand to testify at the trial, which is scheduled for March 2026. Cameras will not be allowed inside the courtroom.
Lively’s attorney, Mike Gottlieb, has also confirmed that his client will testify. In response to that news, Freedman said: “She has been testifying since the moment she auditioned for this part. And if she is suddenly now willing to sit for a deposition, I am available. How does tomorrow morning work for her?”
In an additional statement to The Independent, Freedman claimed that Lively had intentionally used her celebrity contacts to leverage public opinion in her favor, and pushed back at Reynolds’ attempts to extricate himself from the legal action.
“Although obviously uncomfortable for the Lively parties, the truth is not a distraction. The truth has been clearly shown through unedited receipts, documents and real life footage. More to come,” said Freedman.
He 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.
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“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.”
At the end of last month, Marvel filed a legal request in the hope of removing itself from Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively.
Baldoni’s lawyers requested in January that Marvel and Disney retain “any and all documents relating to the development of the ‘Nicepool’ character” as well as “communications relating to the development, writing, and filming of storylines and scenes featuring ‘Nicepool.’”
Baldoni’s representatives believe the Deadpool & Wolverine character was created by the film’s star Reynolds to mock him, and asked the studio to preserve “all documents relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool.’”
They have opposed Marvel’s attempts to remove itself from the suit.
