NEED TO KNOW
- A spokesperson for Blake Lively has slammed Justin Baldoni’s legal team for subpoenaing Taylor Swift
- The spokesperson was also critical of Baldoni’s attorney’s suggestion that the deposition be a ticketed event at Madison Square Garden
- Both Lively and Baldoni will testify in the March 2026 lawsuit
Blake Lively’s team slammed Justin Baldoni’s lawyers’ suggestion to sell tickets to her upcoming deposition for their It Ends With Us legal battle and for subpoenaing Taylor Swift.
“Mr. Baldoni, Mr. Sarowitz, and team continue to turn a case of sexual harassment and retaliation into entertainment for the tabloids, going as far as suggesting that they sell tickets to a concert venue – Madison Square Garden – to witness Ms. Lively’s deposition, to subpoenaing Taylor Swift, a woman who has given a voice to millions all over the world,” a rep for Lively, 37, said in a statement, referring to Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios co-founder Steve Sarowitz.
“This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey’s Circus,” the statement continued.
“The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame and attack women’s rights and reputations. Including in the past month seeking to strike down for all, a powerful California victims’ rights law, calling it ‘unconstitutional,’ ” the rep added. “The disturbing actions by a billionaire, men who made their careers as ‘female allies’ and their team continue to show their true colors.”
Swift, 35, a personal friend of Lively’s, was subpoenaed in the case on Friday, May 9. Swift was not involved in the making of It Ends With Us beyond licensing her hit song “My Tears Ricochet” for use in the film, her rep told PEOPLE.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history,” Swift’s rep said Friday.
The new statement from Lively’s team also references a suggestion Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, made earlier this week to livestream Lively’s testimony.
“Since Ms. Lively is open to testifying, let’s make it count,” Freedman told PEOPLE on Thursday, May 8. “Hold the deposition at MSG, sell tickets or stream it, and donate every dollar to organizations helping victims of domestic abuse.”
Baldoni, 41, will take the stand at the eventual trial, which is scheduled for March 2026 and will not have cameras present inside, per Freedman’s statement to PEOPLE.
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Lively’s attorney, Mike Gottlieb, told PEOPLE that Lively will testify in the impending trial.
“We think there have been a lot of distractions put up to deflect attention from the retaliation campaign that was launched against her,” Gottlieb said.
“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,” Gottleib continued.
Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, is also named as a defendant in Baldoni’s countersuit against Lively. It remains unclear whether Reynolds, 48, will testify. Lively’s legal team is working to dismiss the actor from the case.
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