Blake Lively has secured a location of her choosing for the Thursday deposition in her legal battle against Justin Baldoni. Despite protests from the filmmaker’s legal team, a judge has granted the “Gossip Girl” star’s request to depose her at her attorney’s office. After a heated legal battle between Lively and Baldoni, this ruling is a procedural win for her.
Blake Lively’s deposition will reportedly take place at her chosen location
While choosing the location, Blake Lively and her lawyers argued that having the deposition at Justin Baldoni’s attorney’s office could lead to a “paparazzi ambush.” Page Six mentioned the court filings, revealing Baldoni’s legal team accused Lively of using her “celebrity status” for special treatment. Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, stated that Lively’s “use of her celebrity status may have enabled her to seize control of the film.” He also added, “Her counsel’s tantrum has no place in this Court.”
Both attorneys’ offices are reportedly only about a mile apart. However, Baldoni’s team claimed the location change would create difficulties for private discussions during the deposition. PEOPLE cited Judge Lewis J. Liman’s order, revealing that the judge mandated Baldoni’s team to provide the names of all those attending the deposition in advance.
Ahead of the deposition, the spokesperson for Blake Lively criticized Justin Baldoni’s lawyer for turning the matter into “a public spectacle.” They referenced that the lawyer proposed “to sell tickets to a televised deposition at Madison Square Garden.” The spokesperson argued, “This is a serious matter of sexual harassment and retaliation and it deserves to be treated as such.”
PEOPLE reported Freedman’s preview of their approach. “I’m gonna ask her questions under penalty of perjury,” he stated. “She’s gonna have to provide evidence, and she’s gonna have to provide the truth of the stories.” Freedman further continued, “We have all of the video tape, all the footage. We have, you know, the text messages and we have emails. We’re gonna see how consistent her testimony is with the actual facts of what transpired.”
Now that the location has been finalized, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are expected to appear for the deposition on July 17.
Originally reported by Ishika Mishra on Reality Tea.
