Justin Baldoni refuses to let Blake Lively take control of what happens next

Justin Baldoni has responded after Blake Lively asked a judge to issue a protective order before her deposition.

For the unversed, the 37-year-old American actress’ lawyers asked Judge Lewis J. Liman to make a protective order on Friday, July 11, 2025.

PEOPLE magazine obtained legal documents and according to them, they want her deposition to happen on Thursday, July 17, at a secret location. They also asked that everyone who will attend the deposition be named ahead of time.

On Sunday, July 13, Baldoni’s legal team sent a letter to Judge Liam in which they denied agreeing with Lively’s request and stated she is using her “celebrity status” to control the deposition “at a location of her choosing.”

The letter stated, "Lively is a plaintiff who has hurled serious allegations of misconduct against the Wayfarer Parties. Like all defendants, the Wayfarer Parties are entitled to depose Lively to develop evidence crucial to their defense. They are also entitled to choose the location of the deposition, which they did."

The Gossip Girl actress’ request clearly mentioned that she and her team asked the judge to stop the Con Man star and his team from picking where the deposition will take place.

Her team stated that Badoni has "not denied that their intent is to manufacture a harassing publicity stunt by requiring Ms. Lively to parade through paparazzi, or by inviting unknown attendees to the deposition, including members of the media or social media influencers, or any other number of abusive tactics," and went on to claim that his team has denied addressing their concerns.

“Since virtually the inception of this litigation, Defendants have used even the prospect of Ms. Lively’s deposition to generate press interest,” the document said.

Notably, this request came after Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in May this year that her deposition should happen at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“Hold the deposition at MSG, sell tickets or stream it, and donate every dollar to organizations helping victims of domestic abuse,” Freedman told the same outlet at that time.

However, The Shallows star “is looking forward to her deposition next week, and it should follow the same rules as every other witness in this case,” per her representative.

“Justin Baldoni’s lawyer has tried to make this matter a public spectacle at every turn, even proposing to sell tickets to a televised deposition at Madison Square Garden.”

"This is a serious matter of sexual harassment and retaliation and it deserves to be treated as such,” the statement concluded.

It is pertinent to mention that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's trial will take place in March 2026 in New York City.