Blake Lively is engaged in a legal battle with Justin Baldoni, which now involves more well-known names than previously reported via PEOPLE. In a newly unsealed court filing submitted in July, the 38-year-old actress listed a wide range of potential witnesses in her ongoing lawsuit related to the film adaptation of ‘It Ends with Us’. Among the more than 100 names mentioned are Taylor Swift, Emily Blunt, Gigi Hadid, Hugh Jackman, and all three members of the band HAIM—Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim.
This disclosure was made public on November 5 by court order and is part of Lively’s high-stakes legal fight against Baldoni, who is the director and producer of ‘It Ends with Us’, as well as Wayfarer Studios. Lively accuses the defendants of creating a hostile and discriminatory work environment, engaging in sexual harassment, and orchestrating a retaliation campaign that, she claims, derailed her career after she raised concerns. Baldoni has denied all allegations.
Also listed as having potential knowledge of the events are Ryan Reynolds, Jenny Slate, Colleen Hoover, Isabela Ferrer, and her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn, and America Ferrera, .
The outlet previously reported that Hoover, Slate, and Ferrer were deposed over the summer.
A source told PEOPLE, “This is not a new list. This was for discovery. It’s a basic part of the process as you head into discovery. They’re not witnesses.”
Both sides were required to create such lists as part of the discovery process.
Lawyer and legal expert Gregory Doll, a partner at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles, who is not involved in the case, adds that over-inclusion is a common legal strategy in early filings.
“Parties are notoriously over-inclusive when they list witnesses in their initial disclosures because they don’t want to lose the right to call someone at trial by not listing them,” he tells PEOPLE.
Lively is seeking over $160 million in damages, including $56 million in lost earnings, $71 million in lost business profits (tied to her ventures Betty Buzz, Betty Booze, and Blake Brown Beauty), and $34 million in reputational harm. She is also pursuing compensation for emotional distress, plus punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
