Blake Lively Will Testify in Justin Baldoni Trial, Her Lawyer Says

Blake Lively is ready to take the stand in her highly anticipated lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.

In an interview with People magazine, Lively’s attorney Mike Gottlieb confirmed that she will indeed testify.

When asked if she would testify, Gottlieb responded, “Yes. The ultimate moment for a plaintiff's story to be told is at trial. We expect that to be the case here [with Lively]. So we would, of course, expect her to be a witness at her trial. Of course she’s going to testify.”

Could Blake’s husband Ryan Reynolds testify? Gottlieb isn’t sure, saying that the “Deadpool” star “may or may be a fact witness.”

Mike didn’t name names, but discussed other possible people who could testify. He said, “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.”

There have been reports that Blake and Ryan’s famous friends Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman could be subpoenaed in the case. Gottlieb noted, “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.”

“You have to ask the question, then, why are these people being subpoenaed?” he went on. “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.”

As for the public commotion around the case, Gottlieb claimed, “We think there have been a lot of distractions put up to deflect attention from the retaliation campaign that was launched against her. 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.”

Gottlieb’s comments come just weeks after she seemingly acknowledge her legal war with Baldoni at the Time100 gala.

She said, “I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum. What I will speak to separately is the feeling of being a woman who has a voice today.”

Lively then revealed that her mom Willie Elain McAlpin was a survivor of a past attack, saying, “At her urging and unwavering bravery, she wanted me to share with you that she is a survivor of the worst crime someone can commit against a woman. I’ve watched her conceal her raw and undeserved shame my entire life. So as her daughter, being asked to share this today is monumental.”

In December, Lively filed a legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department claiming Baldoni sexually harassed her on set. She also accused him of a smear campaign in a New York Times article. In return, he sued The New York Times, which denied any wrongdoing. 

Baldoni then filed a $250M lawsuit against NYT.

Blake then sued Justin and his PR team for sexual harassment and “unconscionable” retaliation. 

Baldoni fired off another defamation lawsuit, suing Blake, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane for $400 million.