(NewsNation) — Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds may think they know what’s about to happen in the upcoming depositions for Justin Baldoni’s suit against them for ruining his career and trying to take control of the movie “It Ends With Us”… but my insider says they “have no idea what’s coming down the pike.”
The public was shocked when Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, posted a website, Thelawsuitinfo.com, which not only had Baldoni’s amended complaint but included a timeline and evidence to back up Baldoni’s claims of extortion and defamation.
Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni
Among the most revelatory items (with texts and messages to back up the claims) in the timeline was Lively blowing past the clothing budget by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Baldoni was terrified of meeting with her and saying the wrong thing, while Lively repeatedly brought up her powerful best friend Taylor Swift, and Lively’s husband, Reynolds, berated Baldoni in an explosive argument.
(Interestingly enough, Lively’s team or a Lively supporter has now posted a similar website, called thelawsuitinfo.info, which seems to be a holding page with the message: “Oppose abusive workplace behavior, especially from managers, including directors. Support Blake Lively’s effort to advocate for herself.”)
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The real ‘It Ends With Us’ battle will be in depositions
But however large and incriminating the trove of information on the existing website may seem, my insider says, “There’s so much more that (Baldoni and Freedman) have on (Lively). They just gave a taste on the website — they’re showing a little ankle but not the whole leg, if you know what I mean.”
The reason? “(Freedman) is going to annihilate (Lively) on the stand during depositions. She thinks she knows what they have — everything that’s on the website — so she can prepare for that. But she can’t prepare for what she doesn’t know they have. And again — they have a lot.”
According to my source, Freedman and Baldoni have a trove of more (as yet unseen publicly) emails, texts, calls, and videos from on-set. “If you think Blake looked shocked during Ryan (Reynold’s) bit during the ‘SNL50,’ wait til you see her face during deposition,” the insider added. “Justin kept everything.”
Ryan Reynolds’ ‘SNL’ joke sparks backlash
My source was referring to Lively and Reynold’s appearance at the “SNL50” anniversary show when Reynolds shocked his wife along with the live and televised audience when he seemed to make light of the upcoming litigation.
During a Q&A session with Tina Fey and Amy Pohler and celebrities in the audience, Fey asked Reynolds how he was doing, to which he quipped: “[I’m doing] great. Why, what have you heard?”
The joke didn’t go down well with Baldoni’s team, either.
Freedman told Billy Bush on the “Hot Mics” podcast: “I’m unaware of anybody, frankly, whose wife has been sexually harassed and has made jokes about that type of situation… I can’t think of anyone who’s done anything like that. So it surprised me.” He also described the joke as the duo’s “latest move.”
Reports have suggested Reynolds came up with the line himself — something his rep told US Weekly was untrue — but many were wondering why the couple were there in the first place as each of them had only hosted the show once, back in 2009, and while Reynolds has made a few guest appearances over the years, none of it was particularly memorable (unlike, say Justin Timberlake’s multiple appearances or his “D*ck In a Box” video which is still viral years later).
While my sources insist Reynolds’ agents at WME (headed by billionaire Ari Emanuel, who gave a full-throated defense of the money-making actor on the “Freakonomics” podcast last week) organized the appearance, one person affiliated with the agency denied this.
Meanwhile, both parties have rejected mediation, with both sides agreeing that settlement talks at this stage would be “inappropriate” and “premature.” They have also both amended their complaints this week, adding witnesses both claim will buffer their arguments.