Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni could be heading for trial amid their legal battle, and Ryan Reynold’s pal Hugh Jackman could be deposed, it has been claimed
Hugh Jackman is reportedly the latest celebrity to become involved in the legal dispute between Blake Lively and her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
In December, Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, 41, claiming sexual harassment. He countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, for £321 million, accusing them of trying to destroy his reputation and career.
Lively then filed an amended complaint that she says provides “significant additional evidence and corroboration” of her original claims.
The Hollywood actress is also the subject of a $7 million (£5.6 million) lawsuit by crisis publicist Jed Wallace, after she previously claimed that he “weaponised a digital army” against her as part of a smear campaign by Baldoni’s team. All parties have strongly denied the claims made against them.
An insider claimed that Baldoni’s legal team ‘are not going to leave any stone unturned,’ and Hugh Jackman could be called in to speak on his pal Ryan Reynolds at trial (
Image:
AP)
With filings piling up and the main parties denying the claims made against them, Hollywood star Jackman is reportedly set to be deposed if the dispute continues to trial.
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Jackman starred in Deadpool & Wolverine with Reynolds, with the superhero film having been released just a couple of weeks before It Ends with Us.
An source claimed to the Daily Mail that “there is no way that [Jackman] cannot” expect to be deposed if a trial occurs, considering “Baldoni’s legal team is doing everything they need to do to get a full scope of Ryan’s conduct during the time that It Ends with Us was filmed.”
The source added that Jackman is “Ryan’s good friend,” and as such: “They are not going to leave any stone unturned.”
The source likened Jackman’s link to the case to that of Taylor Swift, adding that “Hugh helped promote It Ends with Us in the same way that Taylor did when they did their group shot for the cross-promo with Deadpool,” claiming he would have been aware of any tensions at the time. The Mirror has contacted representatives of Jackman, Baldoni, and Lively for comment.
Taylor Swift, like Jackman, is another celeb who has been embroiled into the feud between Baldoni and Lively, after Baldoni published a string of alleged messages from Lively in which (using a Game of Thrones reference) described Swift as one of her “dragons”.
In his filing, Baldoni claims that Lively brought Swift to a meeting about script changes. He claims that she used her “mega-celebrity friend” to intimidate him, and the “subtext” of Swift’s presence at the meeting was that he “needed to comply with Blake’s direction for the script”.
While Swift is also allegedly expected to be deposed at a possible trial, some fans have been disappointed by her silence on the feud.
A source previously shared that Swift’s silence could even be used by Baldoni’s camp, explaining: “Some people feel [Taylor] should be offering comfort and using her platform to rally Swifties in support of what is right.
“Instead, Taylor appears to have gone silent and is staying out of the public eye. This will likely play a role in Justin’s defence. If Taylor does not believe Blake, she will be the smoking gun in this case.”
