Blake Lively Will Testify Against Justin Baldoni in ‘It Ends With Us’ Harassment Trial, Lawyer Says

Blake Lively is gearing up to take the stand and testify against her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director Justin Baldoni in the pair’s upcoming trial over Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and pursuit of a smear campaign, and Baldoni’s claims of defamation and civil extortion.

Lively’s attorney Mike Gottlieb confirmed the news to People in an interview published Thursday. “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.”

Gottlieb said his client won’t be only one to speak before the courtroom.

“There are individuals that were witnesses to or experienced misconduct that is relevant to Ms. Lively’s claims,” Gottlieb said, adding that the discovery process is underway for both parties. “We expect their testimony, particularly about what took place on set, will come out through live witness testimony.”

Gottlieb, who mentioned that his team will present an evidence-based case, shared that he feels the situation has been muddied with “distractions.”

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

He also responded to reports that Baldoni’s team may subpoena Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman, questioning the celebrities’ connection to the case.

“It’s completely unclear what claims or defenses in the case any of these celebrities … have any relevance to at all,” Gottlieb said. “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 continued: “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.”

Baldoni’s attorney responded to Gottlieb’s first interview in his own statement to People, arguing that Gottlieb is trying to evade the facts.

“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,” Bryan Freedman said. “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.”

Ultimately, Gottileb shared his concerns about the trial being overrun by the media.

“We don’t expect this case is going to turn into a circus of parading in every celebrity that might have ever had a conversation with Blake Lively or Ryan Reynolds — or, in the same way, about any famous person who might’ve ever had a conversation with Justin Baldoni or Steve Sorowitz,” Gottlieb said.

Back in December 2024, Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni, claiming the filmmaker caused her “severe emotional distress” and coordinated a smear campaign against her after she came forward with her allegations. Baldoni hit back with a countersuit against Lively, Reynolds, their publicist and The New York Times for $400 million over what he called “falsified stories.” (He dropped his separate $250 million defamation lawsuit against the NYT, and instead amended the above counterclaim to include the paper.)

Judge Lewis Liman set a trial date for Lively and Baldoni’s lawsuits for March 9, 2026.

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