Following claims from Justin Baldoni’s legal counsel that Taylor Swift would be deposed in the ongoing legal dispute between him and his “It Ends With Us” co-star, Blake Lively, the pop icon has issued a response.
Swift’s attorney stated Friday that she has “no material role” in the case and has not agreed to a deposition, directly contradicting the claims made by Baldoni’s team.
Baldoni’s attorney stated Thursday that an agreement to depose Swift was requested in late October due to the singer’s “preexisting professional obligations.”
Lively’s legal team is requesting the judge deny the extension of the deadline, accusing Baldoni of attempting to bring Swift into the litigation “to generate a media spectacle in this matter.”
The singer will only provide a deposition if Baldoni’s legal team can persuade U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman to extend the deadline for her testimony.
This marks the latest development in the high-profile legal battle between Lively and Baldoni.
The dueling lawsuits between the “It Ends With Us” stars have been unfolding in New York federal court following the controversial promotional campaign for their 2024 film, which Baldoni also produced and directed.
Lively filed suit against Baldoni and his studio in New York last year, alleging sexual harassment on set and a campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
Baldoni countersued the “Gossip Girl” star, but his defamation lawsuit was dismissed in June.
In legal documents obtained by the BBC’s U.S. media partner CBS, the “Jane the Virgin” actor’s attorney accused Lively of misleadingly implying that Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios requested “a blanket thirty-day extension of the discovery cut-off date.”
“In fact, Wayfarer Parties requested an agreement solely to take the deposition of Taylor Swift during the week of October 20-25 due to Ms. Swift’s preexisting professional obligations,” stated his attorney, Ellyn S. Garofalo.
Garofalo has requested the court modify its scheduling order “for the sole purpose of accommodating third-party witness Taylor Swift,” who she claims has agreed to appear for a deposition but would be unable to do so before October 20.
Swift is scheduled to release her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on October 3, having announced the release last month on her fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast.
In response, Lively’s attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb, sent a letter to Judge Liman on Friday requesting the judge deny Baldoni and his co-defendants’ request for a deadline extension.
Gottlieb stated that Baldoni’s team has “repeatedly sought to bring Ms. Swift into this litigation to fuel their relentless media strategy.”
“In this latest effort, the Wayfarer Defendants assert—though, notably, without evidence—that Ms. Swift has supposedly ‘agreed’ to sit for a deposition sometime between October 20-25 (some three weeks after the close of fact discovery in this matter),” Gottlieb wrote.
Gottlieb added that Baldoni’s team has “not come close to establishing good cause” for their requested extension.
He stated that Baldoni’s team did not contact Swift’s lawyer with details about the deposition until earlier this week and accused the defendants of an “astounding” lack of diligence, as well as disrespect to Swift’s privacy and schedule.
In a separate filing on Friday, Swift’s lawyer, J. Douglas Baldridge, wrote to the judge stating, “since the inception of this matter we have consistently maintained that my client has no material role in this action.”
He added that Swift did not agree to a desposition but would comply “if she is forced into a deposition”. He noted that they first heard about the depositioon three days prior and that she would comply “if she is forced into a deposition” by the court.
However, he reasserted that she can only be deposed during the week of October 20 because that is the only time her schedule can accommodate the time required.
In May, Baldoni’s lawyers attempted to obtain messages between Lively and the singer directly from Swift by sending subpoenas to the Grammy Award winner and her legal team.
However, the subpoenas were dropped after Swift’s legal team objected that they amounted to an “unwarranted fishing expedition.”
Lively’s team applied to prevent Baldoni from obtaining the messages, arguing they were irrelevant.
In June, the judge ruled that messages between Lively and Swift can be handed over to Mr. Baldoni, stating that communications between the friends about the environment on the “It Ends With Us” film set are relevant to the case.