Justin Baldoni could come out victorious in the legal battle with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, and if he does, it could all be because of their close friend Taylor Swift?!
On a new podcast from TMZ called Two Angry Men, hosts Harvey Levin and Mark Geragos spoke with the It Ends With Us star/director’s attorney Bryan Freedman about the nasty case. At one point, Harvey brought up the fact that Tay Tay could be deposed. Why? Well, the Evermore artist was dragged into the lawsuits!
As we’ve reported, Blake first filed a complaint against Justin in December accusing him of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign against her to ruin her reputation in retaliation. In her complaint, Lively claimed the actor received a “Scenario Planning Document” from his crisis PR team about how they would handle a situation in which Blake made her “grievances [about him] public” — and it mentioned the pop star! The document allegedly stated they could “also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in BL’s circle, like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want.’”
Related: Blake Lively Hit With ANOTHER Lawsuit — And Her Lawyers Respond!
That was only the start! Justin then claimed in a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake and Ryan that the Cruel Summer artist helped ambush him to accept a rewrite the actress did of a “pivotal” rooftop scene in the movie. His story goes that he met the couple at their penthouse in New York City to talk about the rewrite but was cornered by Ryan, who “launched into enthusiastic praise for Lively’s version of the scene.” Then, Taylor later jumped in and “similarly began praising Lively’s script.” The lawsuit added:
“Baldoni understood the subtext: he needed to comply with Lively’s direction for the script.”
Unfortunately for Taylor, she’s involved in the legal drama — whether she likes it or not! And because her name comes up in the suit, as Harvey points out in the podcast, there’s a real chance Justin’s team could call her for a deposition!
But Bryan won’t answer if that will happen right now, instead telling the hosts:
“I don’t know if we’re going to depose Taylor Swift or not. I think that’s probably going to be a game-time decision. I don’t know that decision’s been made, but I can tell you this. Anyone that reasonably has information that can provide evidence in this case is going to be deposed.”
But read between the lines! It is NOT a flat-out no! Because Taylor was in the room for that meeting about the rewrite, it is on the table that she could be deposed! Whoa!
Yet Harvey does not think that will happen. He doesn’t even think all of them will go to trial in March 2026! He feels Blake and Ryan would do anything to keep the singer, or any of their famous friends, from getting questioned by Bryan — even if it means settling! Yeah, that is right! Taylor could be the key to getting the pair to settle! Harvey explained:
“I’m just thinking that even when you take Blake and Ryan out of it in terms of how they personally feel about it all. I mean to say ‘we’re gonna put Taylor Swift in the middle of this whole thing,’ I think they are gonna do everything they can to avoid going to court because the last thing they want is to have their friend, the biggest star in the world now, sitting on a stand being grilled by Bryan Freedman.”
This potentially would be a PR nightmare for Taylor if she had to get up on a stand!
But while the two have already taken steps to try to protect their famous friends, there is only so much they can do. Blake and Ryan’s reps already took a hit. So, would they really want to take the Grammy winner down with them? Harvey may be on to something here. And if Justin can get Blake and Ryan to settle through Taylor, that would be a massive win for him!
Bryan isn’t jinxing it, though! He did not address a potential settlement plan. Instead, he predicted that “they’re gonna probably take some legal actions that are beyond the bounds of decency, and we’ll see if they can try to avoid a deposition.” Whoa!! Guess we will see how this plays out!
Watch the podcast episode (below):
What do YOU think, Perezcious readers?
Do you think Blake and Ryan will settle to protect Taylor from a deposition? Or do you feel that there is no way they’re backing down? Let us know!
[Image via MEGA/WENN, Phil Lewis/WENN]
Related Posts
