Blake Lively<\/a> has described the ongoing pressure she feels from what she calls a \u201csmear campaign\u201d by her former It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni and his team. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Blake Lively has described the ongoing pressure she feels from what she calls a \u2018smear campaign\u2019 by her former It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni and his team<\/p>\n
The 37-year-old actress made the admission during a deposition in New York City, according to a transcript released after a court order.<\/p>\n
According to People, which obtained a section of the deposition, she was asked by an unnamed lawyer for Justin: \u201cWhen did the smear campaign end?\u201d <\/p>\n
Blake replies: \u201cIt doesn’t feel like it’s ended.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the lawyer follows up by asking: \u201cIt\u2019s still ongoing?\u201d, Blake replies: \u201cIt feels that way, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe attorney then asks: \u201cWho do you believe is involved in the ongoing smear campaign?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nGossip Girl actress Blake answers: \u201cI believe \u2013 outside of what I know through attorneys \u2013 I believe that the defendants are involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAnd when the attorney asks her \u201cWhich ones?” Blake says: \u201cAll of them. And I believe you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nShe also tells the attorney: \u201cI believe the act of a retaliatory lawsuit and the press that you have done and the statements that you have made about me and my character have felt incredibly retaliatory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe deposition took place on Wednesday, 30 July, and the full transcript is reported to span nearly 300 pages. <\/p>\n
\nA portion was made public following Judge Lewis J. Liman\u2019s order from 8 August, revealing the tense exchange between Blake and a lawyer representing Justin, 41. <\/p>\n
\nThe deposition came after Blake filed a lawsuit in December against Justin and his Wayfarer Studios team, along with their publicist and crisis PR representatives, alleging sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign. The defendants have denied the allegations. <\/p>\n
\nJustin\u2019s $400 million countersuit was dismissed by the judge in June. <\/p>\n
\nBryan Freedman, Justin\u2019s attorney, told TMZ at the time that he would question Blake under oath.<\/p>\n
\nHe added: \u201cI\u2019m gonna ask her questions under penalty of perjury, and she\u2019s gonna have to provide evidence, and she\u2019s gonna have to provide the truth of the stories.\u201d <\/p>\n
\nMr Freedman added Justin is seeking to be \u201cvindicated\u201d and \u201cwants the truth to come out, and he wants to do that in the appropriate way\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nThe lawyer added: \u201cHe\u2019s waiting for his day in court, where he can speak out to tell the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nA spokesperson for Blake said in a statement from 7 August they were \u201cpleased with the outcome of her deposition and now look forward to deposing Justin Baldoni and each of the co-defendants in short order\u201d. <\/p>\n
\nFilings show Blake\u2019s lawyers accused Justin\u2019s team of leaking deposition details to create a \u201cmedia circus\u201d and advance a narrative of a direct confrontation.<\/p>\n
\nMultiple defendants and eight attorneys were present at her deposition. <\/p>\n
\nJustin\u2019s lawyers have countered any leaks could have originated from Blake, her actor husband Ryan Reynolds, her attorneys or staff.<\/p>\n
\nThe trial in the case is scheduled for March 2026.<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"14 August 2025 Blake Lively has described the ongoing pressure she feels from what she calls a \u201csmear campaign\u201d by her former It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni and his team. Blake Lively has described the ongoing pressure she feels from what she calls a \u2018smear campaign\u2019 by her former It Ends With Us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":186738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1457,8588,10504,5935,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-186737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-make-up","8":"tag-blake-lively","9":"tag-bryan-freedman","10":"tag-judge-lewis-j-liman","11":"tag-justin-baldoni","12":"tag-ryan-reynolds"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}