Blake Lively Scores Court Protection in Justin Baldoni Deposition Dispute
Oh, brilliant. Yet another celebrity showdown over paperwork and privacy. Blake Lively has just secured a protective order in her ongoing legal tangle with director Justin Baldoni, courtesy of Judge Lewis J. Liman’s ruling on July 14. The court order forces Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios team to name every single person planning to attend Lively’s upcoming deposition. That session is set for July 17, giving both sides a narrow two-day window to sort out who gets a front-row seat in what has become a public spectacle.
Three days prior to the judge’s decision, Lively’s lawyers filed a July 11 motion demanding that opposing counsel respect her reasonable privacy requests. According to legal documents obtained by E! News, the motion stressed that Baldoni’s team had previously “refused Ms. Lively’s reasonable requests” to cooperate on deposition logistics. They expressed fear that unknown guests—possibly paparazzi, media personnel, or social media influencers—might turn the deposition into a sensational publicity stunt. The filing argued that only Baldoni’s camp insisted on controlling all logistical and security details, leaving no room for Lively’s concerns.
Under the new protective order, Blake Lively is also required to “make arrangements for opposing counsel to have a dedicated computer and the ability to print and copy documents in the space chosen by Lively.” In return, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios must provide advance notice of everyone who will be present at her deposition, ensuring no surprises or unwanted press ambushes.
Justin Baldoni’s legal team fired back on July 13, filing a letter of opposition that dismissed Lively’s accusations as baseless and lacking factual support. According to that filing, Lively offered no evidence of a so-called “publicity stunt.” The Jane the Virgin actor’s lawyers even pointed out that Lively had willingly shared her allegations with The New York Times back in December, thus generating widespread media coverage. They accused her of leveraging her celebrity status to dominate the narrative and claimed her counsel’s objections had more to do with public relations than legitimate legal concerns.
This latest ruling comes a month after Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and his separate lawsuit against The New York Times. That countersuit dismissal followed Lively’s December 20 filing of a California Civil Rights Department complaint against Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates, stemming from her claims of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us.
As this legal drama unfolds, both sides appear hell-bent on controlling the story. Will Justin Baldoni’s team comply quietly with the court order? Can Blake Lively prevent another media circus? Stay tuned as depositions draw near and this bitter dispute plays out in and out of court. And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News, The New York Times
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
