Blake Lively scores courtroom WIN over Justin Baldoni; Judge strikes actress's deposition transcript from court docket

The legal showdown between Hollywood stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni just seems to be getting messier. After her recent filing, Judge Lewis J Liman has ordered the removal of the actress's nearly 300-page deposition transcript from a court filing and delivered a sharp reprimand to Baldoni’s legal team for including it in the public records.

The court also accused Baldoni's team, lead by Bryan Freedman, of burdening both the actress and the justice system and also for potentially stirring up a scandal.


According to Variety, the dispute erupted when Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, attached the sealed transcript to a recent discovery motion, despite referencing only two pages of it. She said she believed Baldoni’s team submitted the transcript “solely for strategic media and public-relations purposes.” Her lawyers also argued the move was an attempt to sway potential jurors through the court of public opinion and make it appear as if she wanted the transcript sealed.

Judge Liman didn’t mince words in his opinion, obtained by Just Jared, “The Wayfarer Parties’ attachment of the entire, nearly 300-page deposition—after citing only two pages… served no proper litigation purpose and instead appears to have been intended to burden Lively (and as a result, the Court) and to invite public speculation and scandal.”

Freedman responded to the court, stating that the transcript was under seal. He even slammed Lively’s claim they were trying to make her defend the “continued sealing of the transcript.”

“Lively has the option of moving to keep the document sealed; although it is puzzling why she seeks to conceal her own testimony in an action in which she is the plaintiff,” Freedman wrote.

The judge in his opinion, stated, “The Wayfarer Parties have not even attempted to argue that the entire deposition was relevant. Nor could they. The conclusion is inescapable that the Wayfarer Parties filed gratuitous amounts of irrelevant pages so that, if Lively moved for continued sealing of the irrelevant pages, the Wayfarer Parties could then use Lively’s response for their own public-relations purposes. The Court has not only the power but also the responsibility to step in.”

The judge ordered several filings to be sealed and granted Lively’s motion.

While Baldoni’s team has denied wrongdoing, the ruling marks another victory for Lively in a case that has been drawing attention from all quarters. The high profile cast will has a court date set for March 9, 2026.