Blake Lively to testify in Baldoni trial

LOS ANGELES

In the latest development in the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, Lively’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb have confirmed that the actress intends to take the stand when the case heads to trial next year.

“This is a case about what happened to Blake Lively when she raised claims of sexual harassment on set and the retaliation that followed. Of course she will testify,” Hudson and Gottlieb said in a statement to CNN on May 8.

Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights Department in December, preceding a lawsuit that followed about a week later. She also claimed that Baldoni, along with his PR representatives, orchestrated a “social manipulation campaign” to hurt her reputation in the media while they were promoting “It Ends with Us,” their 2024 film at the center of the dispute.

Gottlieb said that Lively plans to testify because “the ultimate moment for a plaintiff’s story to be told is at trial.”

“We expect that to be the case here with Lively,” he added. “So we would, of course, expect her to be a witness at her trial.”

Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said, “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.”

In an amended complaint filed in February, Lively alleged other women also raised claims about Baldoni’s behavior on set.