Blake Lively to testify against Justin Baldoni in s*xual harassment trial - Everything to know

Blake Lively’s s*xual harassment trial against Justin Baldoni has a new development. Her lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, announced that the Gossip Girl actress would take the stand to testify when the trial begins in March 2026.

People Magazine first shared the news on May 8, 2025. In a statement to the magazine, Mike Gottlieb said:

“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.”

Gottlieb stated that there were witnesses to support Blake Lively’s claims. He expected their accounts to be shared during the live testimony.

He also mentioned that during the discovery phase, the defense would be allowed to question Blake Lively, and in return, her legal team would be able to interview the defendant under oath.

In addition to these witness statements, her lawyers emphasized that their case would also include supporting evidence. They planned to present documents, producer statements, and input from Sony Pictures and other people.

Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, rejected Gottlieb’s arguments and accused Blake Lively of trying to shift attention away from the core issues in the case. He argued that the truth had already been shown through clear evidence like unedited receipts, documents, and video footage, and claimed there was more.

Freedman said Blake Lively had brought her friends into the situation herself, without considering the possible consequences for them. He also claimed she used her group of friends, “Dragons,” to try to manipulate Justin Baldoni.

Blake Lively’s lawyer said there have been too many distractions to sidetrack the matter

Freedman further accused Ryan Reynolds of misconduct, saying there was evidence that Reynolds had acted intentionally raised questions about whether Disney allowed company money to be used for personal reasons. He suggested this could create bigger problems for those involved. Meanwhile, Mike Gottlieb added:

“We think there have been a lot of distractions put up to deflect attention from the retaliation campaign that was launched against her.”

He went on:

“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 argued that it was confusing how any of the celebrities being mentioned were connected to the claims or defenses in the case. He explained that the focus of the lawsuit was on what happened to Blake Lively when she spoke up about s*xual harassment on set, not the music choices for the film or Marvel characters in Deadpool.

He also questioned the reasoning behind calling these celebrities to testify, suggesting that they had no real connection to the legal matter.

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Blake Lively lodged a complaint against the It Ends With Us director on the grounds of s*xual harassment. She claimed that Baldoni and his associates initiated a social media smear campaign against her to tarnish her reputation.

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