The sordid and exhausting authorized drama between Blake Energetic and Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director of “It Ends With Us,” might finish in a settlement, particularly with the likelihood that Taylor Swift might be deposed and compelled to share particulars about her position within the saga, authorized consultants mentioned Wednesday.
Swift is Energetic’s shut buddy, and he or she and Energetic’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, have been current throughout a now-infamous assembly with Baldoni, the place the the director mentioned he was pressured into accepting Energetic’s rewrites for a key scene within the home violence drama, when his and Energetic’s characters first meet earlier than falling in love.
Throughout an interview on TMZ’s new authorized podcast, Two Indignant Males, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman performed coy about whether or not he deliberate to depose Swift, although he didn’t rule out the likelihood.
“I don’t know that we’re going to depose Taylor Swift or not,” Freeman mentioned. “I think that’s probably going to be a game-time decision.” However he added, “I can tell you this. Anyone that reasonably has information that can provide evidence in this case is gonna be deposed.”
With that, host Harvey Levin, TMZ’s founder and a longtime legal professional himself, declared, “That’s Taylor Swift. She was there for that meeting.” Freedman acknowledged: “She was there for that meeting.”
Freedman is representing Baldoni in a $400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit towards Energetic and Reynolds, alleging that the Hollywood energy couple wrested management of his film from him and sought to destroy his status. Baldoni’s lawsuit was filed after Energetic’s crew first went to the New York Occasions final yr to share particulars a couple of authorized grievance she was about to file towards Baldoni, alleging that she was sexually harassed through the movie’s manufacturing and focused by him and others for public relations “smear campaign.” Energetic subsequently sued Baldoni for sexual harassment, whereas Baldoni additionally has sued the New York Occasions for libel, alleging $250 million in damages.
Earlier within the podcast, Levin declared to his co-host, superstar legal professional Mark Geragos: “This case will never go to trial. This case will never see a courtroom.”
After Levin asserted that the lawsuits filed by each Energetic and Baldoni, have been finally achieved for “P.R.” functions, he defined that Energetic has a motive to wish to quietly settle this case, even on Baldoni’s phrases.
“She doesn’t want to get deposed,” Levin mentioned. “She doesn’t want Ryan to get deposed, and she certainly doesn’t want Taylor to get deposed. And Taylor will put pressure on her for that.”
Geragos, agreed, saying: “Remember what a deposition is? A deposition is one lawyer, who is adverse to you, taking your deposition. On camera. Without a judge to sustain objections. The only thing you can object on is (some kind of) privilege. You’ve got to answer everything, so every laundry list of dirty deed that you have ever done could be fair game. No way she’s going to submit to that.”
Geragos additionally mentioned: “You’ve heard of too big to fail? This is one of those too big to try.” He defined that individuals might be jeopardizing their careers and there’s “too much money” at stake — between Reynolds, Energetic and the studios concerned.
Each Geragos and Levin additionally opined that Energetic’s crew by no means anticipated Baldoni to reply so aggressively.
The authorized drama started after Energetic’s crew initially went to the New York Occasions to air her complaints about her “It Ends With Us” co-star and his co-producer and publicists. Like different authorized consultants, together with Eriq Gardner at Puck, Levin and Geragos mentioned it’s vital that Energetic didn’t file a lawsuit at first, however slightly a grievance with California’s Civil Proper Division, simply because the New York Occasions revealed its viral take-down of Baldoni: ‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.”
“The irony is that Blake Lively’s team, they go and they hoodwink the New York Times,” mentioned Geragos, who additionally argued that the New York Occasions didn’t do its “due diligence” in investigating Energetic’s aspect of the story. In his lawsuits, Baldoni has alleged that the Occasions reporters, together with famend #MeToo investigative journalist Megan Twohey, solely shared Energetic’s “cherry-picked” textual content messages between Baldoni’s publicists to make the case that they orchestrated a smear marketing campaign.
“The New York Times decides they’re going to run with it,” Geragos mentioned. “But (Freedman), as the kids would say, has the receipts.” Freedman has shared these “receipts” in Baldoni’s lawsuits and in a controversial timeline of occasions that he’s made public on a web site he established final weekend.
Whereas Levin additionally argued that Baldoni’s lawsuits finally are usually not “about money” however to restore his status, he and Geragos agreed that his lawyer’s aggressive techniques haven’t simply salvaged the actor/director’s public picture however made him well-known. To this point, they are saying he’s profitable the P.R. recreation, which is why he can be motived to settle. “His popularity has increased. He has a reason to walk away,” Levin mentioned.
Initially Revealed: February 6, 2025 at 10:41 AM PST
