Blake Lively took a swipe at Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, during her July 31 deposition, accusing him of being part of the actor’s alleged smear campaign against her.
According to a heavily redacted portion of her deposition transcript filed by Lively’s team Monday and obtained by Us Weekly, Freedman asked the actress when the alleged smear campaign by Baldoni and his team “ended.”
The “Gossip Girl” alum responded, “It doesn’t feel like it’s ended.” When asked if the alleged smear campaign was “still ongoing,” Lively reportedly replied, “It feels that way, ya.”
“Who do you believe is involved in the ongoing smear campaign?” Baldoni’s lawyer asked.
Blake Lively accused lawyer Bryan Freedman of being part of an alleged smear campaign by Justin Baldoni, according to a redacted portion of her deposition transcript obtained by Us Weekly. GC Images
“I believe that the defendants are involved,” Lively reportedly said during her deposition in July. WWD via Getty Images
“I believe — outside of what I know through attorneys — I believe that the defendants are involved,” she replied.
Baldoni’s lawyer sought to clarify which ones, after which Lively responded, “All of them,” adding, “and I believe you are.”
Freedman asked what “basis” the actress had for believing “the defendants and myself are involved in an ongoing smear campaign?”
“Outside of what I know through my attorneys, I believe the act of a retaliatory lawsuit and the press that you have done and the statements that you have made about me and my character have felt incredibly retaliatory,” she said, per the documents.
“The statements that you have made about me and my character have felt incredibly retaliatory,” she said in part. GC Images
Lively’s team previously accused Baldoni’s attorneys of “immediately” leaking details from the deposition to the media. Variety via Getty Images
When asked what the defendants “do that’s part of the ongoing smear campaign,” Lively said, “Like I said, outside of conversations with my attorney, I’m unable to answer that.”
Baldoni’s attorney did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The actor, 41, was present for the New York City deposition, which took place at the offices of Lively’s attorneys. The documents obtained by Us Weekly were only a small portion of the entire deposition.
According to documents obtained by Page Six on Aug. 4, Lively’s lawyers accused Baldoni and his team of “immediately” leaking “details from the deposition to the tabloid media” in an attempt to “advance a storyline that the deposition was a face-to-face showdown between Mr. Baldoni and Ms. Lively.”
The motion clarified that Lively “testified across the table from Mr. Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, all of whom attended this deposition in person, as well as eight attorneys representing the Wayfarer and Wallace Parties, two of whom questioned her” and accused Baldoni’s lawyers of seeking to “create a media circus.”
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