Entertainment

Blake Lively Puts Reynolds on the Stand Against Baldoni

By Erica Coleman · April 13, 2026

The Hollywood legal battle that has refused to stay quiet just got louder.

Blake Lively officially named Ryan Reynolds as a key witness in her lawsuit against director Justin Baldoni, submitting a filing on April 11 that puts her husband on the stand ahead of the May 18 trial in New York’s Southern District. Reynolds is expected to testify about the production and promotion of It Ends With Us, as well as the alleged retaliation campaign Lively claims Baldoni orchestrated against her after she raised concerns about workplace conduct on set.

It’s the highest-profile development in a case that has been generating headlines for nearly a year and a half.

The witness list extends well beyond Reynolds. According to CNN, Lively’s co-stars Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer are both named, as is It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover — whose testimony will be delivered by deposition. On Baldoni’s side, his former publicist Stephanie Jones and crisis PR executive Melissa Nathan are expected to appear, along with his former podcast co-host Liz Plank.

The trial arrives after a significant legal setback for Lively. In early April, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 claims in her lawsuit — including the sexual harassment allegations that initially defined the case. What remains are three claims: retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract. Baldoni is no longer a personal defendant in any of them. The remaining claims target Wayfarer Studios and associated PR defendants.

That’s a narrowed case — but not a dead one. And Lively made clear she intends to see it through. Her attorney said the case “has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation.” Lively herself described the surviving claims as “the heart of my case.”

Reynolds’ involvement adds a different kind of weight. Throughout the litigation, his private messages and emails have already been unsealed — including texts comparing the situation to the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case, and communications with Sony executives that drew their own wave of coverage. His decision to testify formally rather than simply support from the gallery signals the couple is going all in.

Baldoni’s team has consistently denied the allegations. His attorney told E! News that Lively’s declaration of victory is “false” and called the case “about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign.”

Between $142 million and $300 million in compensatory damages are at stake. The trial is scheduled for 15 days. And with Reynolds now formally in the room, the proceedings are unlikely to stay out of the headlines for a single one of them.