• yesterday
Justin Baldoni's lawyer has an ace in the hole in his client's legal war with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds ... and the threat of a Taylor Swift deposition can go a long way here.

Category

People
Transcript
00:00So, very exciting news here.
00:01We have a new project that we're rolling out here,
00:04and Taylor Swift is providing some content
00:08as she tends to do.
00:10Thank you, Taylor.
00:11Because you know, of course, that Taylor Swift
00:14inserted herself into, at the time,
00:16she didn't think it was, I guess it already was,
00:19a battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
00:20But kind of a private battle.
00:23Right, that was just when they were
00:24talking about the script.
00:26You know what happened during the meeting
00:28at Blake Lively's penthouse?
00:30Justin's talking to her about a scene that she rewrote,
00:33and then suddenly Ryan Reynolds walks in,
00:35cheerleading for her rewrite.
00:37And then Taylor Swift walks in,
00:40cheerleading for said rewrite.
00:42And what an amazing work.
00:43And Blake even kind of calls them in a text, her dragons.
00:47Not kind of, she did say, they are my dragons.
00:49She said, I'm Khaleesi, and they are my dragons.
00:52So, the question then,
00:55has Taylor Swift now been dragged into these lawsuits
00:59to a point where she may have to sit for a deposition,
01:04take the stand, swear to tell the truth, and get grilled?
01:08About all sorts of things.
01:10Because that's what happens in a deposition.
01:11It doesn't stay on just that one,
01:14it's not gonna be just about that meeting.
01:16So, will she actually be deposed?
01:19You had an opportunity to put that question
01:21to Brian Friedman, who is Justin Baldoni's lawyer.
01:25You sat down with him on your new podcast, Two Angry Men.
01:28Brian is not one of the angry men.
01:30Your co-host, Mark Geragos.
01:33He is the other angry man.
01:35And this was your interview with Brian Friedman.
01:38I don't know that we're gonna depose Taylor Swift or not.
01:42Really?
01:43You know, I think that that's gonna be,
01:45you know, probably a game time decision.
01:47I don't know that that decision's been made,
01:50but I can tell you this, there's, you know,
01:53anyone that reasonably has information
01:58that can be, you know, that can provide evidence
02:01in this case is gonna be deposed.
02:03That's Taylor Swift.
02:04She was there for that meeting.
02:06She was there for that meeting.
02:08Okay, well, I'm a lawyer.
02:10I know what that means.
02:12You know, this is really interesting stuff.
02:13The entire trial, if it goes to trial,
02:15which you, Harvey, don't think it ever will, right?
02:18No way. You're taking the position.
02:19Just a pure media play by both, right?
02:22Media manipulation by both sides.
02:25But if it were to go and go forward to depositions,
02:27Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, obviously.
02:30Ryan Reynolds.
02:31Ryan Reynolds, all potentially deponents,
02:34and they would all potentially be called
02:35to the stand to testify.
02:37What a fantastic day that would be.
02:39Well, I gotta tell you, though.
02:40Number one, Blake is the one who filed for his lawsuit.
02:43I personally do not believe she ever intended
02:47this to end up in court.
02:48It was a PR lawsuit, not a legal lawsuit,
02:52even though it was wrapped in legalese.
02:54I think it was done because she was getting dragged
02:57and that this was the way she could fight back.
03:00And it worked until he filed his, and then the tide turned.
03:04But the idea that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
03:09and Taylor Swift would take the stand?
03:12No way.
03:14And now the question is, what's in it for Justin Baldoni?
03:18Well, he says he's lost business.
03:19He's lost his reputation.
03:22And I get that, and Brian Friedman talks about it.
03:24But on the other hand, a lot of people know
03:27who Justin Baldoni is who didn't know before.
03:30Yes.
03:30And he's kind of winning the PR war.
03:31And he's winning that.
03:33The one thing I will say about Blake filing it just for PR,
03:37because remember, she did make some very serious allegations
03:40about sexual harassment on the set,
03:42which I think is an issue that clearly a lot of actors
03:46are concerned about.
03:47And I think there was initially a lot of support for her.
03:51And I agree that it's gone back and forth.
03:54Well, but if the allegations-
03:55When you put the New York Times article in the mix here-
03:58But as far as her being dragged, I don't remember,
04:00like, that was, the movie had come out
04:03back during the summer.
04:04I know, but remember, people were posting online
04:06things that had happened in the past.
04:09And it started-
04:10Again, that was back in the summer.
04:11She didn't file until December.
04:13So-
04:14But she was still getting dragged for that.
04:16I mean, you know, look, I don't know.
04:20And I asked Brian Friedman about this on the podcast.
04:22I mean, I was really direct with him.
04:24And Mark knows Brian really well.
04:27And Mark kept trying to deflect it.
04:28Right.
04:29But we get into it.
04:31We get into it.
04:32Angry men.
04:33Hi, it's Jodi from New Hampshire.
04:36Hi, Jodi.
04:37She's done.
04:37She's finished.
04:38There is no coming back from this.
04:40Doesn't matter who else she sues.
04:42She's just throwing whatever she can against the wall
04:45to see what sticks.
04:46And she didn't expect, as you said, Harvey,
04:49the tide to turn.
04:51And boy, has it turned.
04:52Yeah, I'm fascinated by this.
04:54And it also has just opened the curtain of Hollywood.
04:57Yeah.
04:58By the way, angry men, where can folks check that out?
05:01Wherever you get your podcasts, Charles.
05:03Very nice.
05:04I just want to see if you had your podcast promo down.

Recommended