Blake Lively is scheduled to sit for a deposition on July 17, as her ongoing legal battle with actor and director Justin Baldoni escalates.
The date, revealed in a July 2 email attached to a recent court filing, marks a key step in the pre-trial discovery phase, according to TMZ.
The case stems from Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation claims against Baldoni, her "It Ends With Us" director and co-star. Baldoni, who denies all allegations, had countersued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion. Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed those counterclaims earlier this year, and Baldoni's team has not refiled.
'She's Gonna Have to Provide the Truth'
Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, made clear what to expect during Lively's deposition. "I'm gonna ask her questions under penalty of perjury," he said on TMZ Live in June. "She's gonna have to provide evidence, and she's gonna have to provide the truth of the stories." Freedman also claimed they have access to video, emails and text messages that they believe will challenge Lively's version of events. "We're gonna see how consistent her testimony is with the actual facts of what transpired," he said.
Freedman's team had initially projected the deposition would take place in late June. That timeline shifted after Lively's lawyers served subpoenas to two publicists affiliated with Baldoni, prompting a delay in document production. A filing from the publicists' attorney confirmed the new July 17 date.
Lively and Baldoni Both Set to Testify
Both Lively and Baldoni are expected to take the stand when the case goes to trial in March 2026 in New York. "Of course she's going to testify," Lively's attorney Mike Gottlieb told PEOPLE in May. "The ultimate moment for a plaintiff's story to be told is at trial. We expect that to be the case here."
In May, Freedman issued a bold challenge, "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."
After the court tossed Baldoni's $400 million countersuit, Lively responded in a public statement, saying she'd experienced "the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit" and was "more resolved than ever" to defend "every woman's right to have a voice."
Baldoni, meanwhile, has remained largely quiet outside his legal team's statements. But according to Freedman, "He knows what he's done. He knows what he hasn't done. And he wants the truth to come out."
Originally published on Enstarz
