A legal expert has weighed in on the possibility of the Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni trial being televised.
Lively, 37, filed a complaint with California‘s Civil Rights Department, accusing her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment and a subsequent smear campaign against her.
The complaint has since escalated into a complex legal battle, after Baldoni has sued The New York Times in a $250 million defamation case, for publishing Lively’s allegations.
Lively then filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, two colleagues at his Wayfarer production company, and his publicists. Baldoni then sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist, Leslie Sloane, alleging a smear campaign orchestrated by Lively to seize control of the film.
A pretrial court date has been set for February 12. Both cases in Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al. will proceed to trial on March 9, 2026, as per People.
The chances of the trial being televised are slim, according to attorney Gregory Doll, who is not involved in the case.

A legal expert has weighed in on the possibility of the Blake Lively, 37, vs. Justin Baldoni, 41, trial being televised; (L) Lively seen in 2024, (R) Baldoni pictured in 2024
The legal dispute is being heard in the Southern District of New York, a federal court.
‘By filing in federal court, they foreclosed the possibility that there will be any cameras in the proceedings,’ Doll, a partner at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles, told People, pointing out points out strict rules that mostly prohibit recording devices in the courtroom.
‘Judicial Conference policy does not allow either civil or criminal courtroom proceedings in the district courts to be broadcast, televised, recorded, or photographed for the purpose of public dissemination,’ according to uscourts.gov.
Despite some pilot programs, cameras are rarely permitted in federal courtrooms.
Doll also explained that Lively and Baldoni do not have to see each other at the pretrial court date on February 12, stating that the parties typically ‘would not need to show up in person at those’ however their lawyers will attend.
Lively and Baldoni might not even make it to trial if a settlement happens beforehand.
Doll believes the two stars will most likely settle, stating that ‘ninety-two percent of all civil cases settle.’
He noted that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s infamous 2022 defamation trial was a ‘rare exception.’
The attorney added that with Baldoni and Lively there might be ‘enough emotion on both sides and enough concern by the parties to actually publicly litigate their grievances.’

The chances of the trial, set for March 9, 2026, being televised are slim, according to attorney Gregory Doll, who is not involved in the case; Lively and Baldoni pictured in a still from It Ends with Us

‘By filing in federal court, they foreclosed the possibility that there will be any cameras in the proceedings,’ Doll told People; Lively seen in 2024

Doll believes the two stars will most likely settle, stating that ‘ninety-two percent of all civil cases settle’; Baldoni pictured in 2024

He noted that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s infamous 2022 defamation trial was a ‘rare exception’; Depp pictured in 2022 during his defamation trial in Virginia
‘It’s very nasty, and I think it’s going to get nastier… It’s going to be a very consuming, very difficult, very challenging time for the parties going ahead. I think they both got great lawyers, but they’re going to pay a lot of money and it’s going to be a lot of emotional turmoil.’
On Monday it was revealed that nothing cases are now scheduled for trial on March 9, 2026, as outlined by Judge Lewis J. Liman in an order filed on January 27.
A pre-trial hearing to address Lively’s gag order request, originally scheduled for February 12th, has been moved to February 3rd.
One of the most eye-opening revelations to emerge in the messy It Ends With Us saga so far was Lively appearing to threaten Baldoni by comparing herself to Game of Thrones character Khaleesi and referring to husband Ryan and bestie Taylor Swift as her ‘dragons’.
And earlier on Monday DailyMail.com shared exclusive audio which sheds further light on the feud, which arose when Lively made changes to the rooftop scene in the romantic drama film – not all of which were met with unqualified praise.
Text messages from April 2023 included in the $400million lawsuit filed against the actress show a dejected Lively expressing her disappointment at Baldoni’s lukewarm response to her version of the scene which had been praised by her husband and her superstar best friend.
The spat saw her go silent for several days until Baldoni ‘felt obliged’ to send her a text message saying he liked her pages and noting that he ‘would have felt that without Ryan and Taylor’, according to the complaint.
Lively would then respond with a lengthy text that said: ‘They [Reynolds and Swift] also know I’m not always good at making sure I’m seen and utilized for fear of threatening egos, or fear of affecting the ease of the process.
‘They don’t give a s*** about that. And because of that, everyone listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm. So I guess I have to stop worrying about people liking me.’
Baldoni replied with a voicemail, published today for the first time, in which the clearly rattled actor could be heard offering Lively a groveling apology and noting ‘I fell short’ over his response to her changes.

A pretrial court date has been set for February 12. Both cases in Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al. will proceed to trial on March 9, 2026, as per People; Lively seen in 2024

Baldoni’s complaint alleges Lively had used husband Ryan Reynolds and pal Taylor Swift to pressure him to comply with her version of the script; Lively and Reynolds seen in 2024

The lawsuit refers to Swift as a ‘famously close friend’ and a ‘megacelebrity’ friend

According to his complaint, Lively’s reference to her ‘dragons’ was a ‘clear message’ that he was also up against to ‘two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world’
In the full audio message, which is just over six and a half minutes long, he goes on to say that he is pleased she feels comfortable enough to tell him that and describes himself as ‘a very flawed man, as my wife will say.’
Baldoni then addresses Lively’s dragon threat directly, saying: ‘Damn right, you got great friends. If that’s how you felt and they knew that. F***.
‘We should all have friends like that, aside from the fact they’re two of the most creative people on the planet… The three of you guys together is unbelievable. Talk about energy. Force. All three of you.’
But, he reiterates, he did not need their names to be raised over the changes to the scene and instead goes on to praise the glamorous blonde – highlighting her work ethic and creative vision.
He said: ‘I just wanted you to know, I didn’t need that. It’s really good and it’s going to make the movie sing like you said and I’m excited to go through the whole movie with you.
‘You and I have been trying to build a relationship which I think we’ve done successfully. Here we are talking together at 2am in the morning.
‘But largely via text and voicemail and I will admit, that’s not my biggest strength. I love being with people and being in somebody’s space and being face-to-face and I think that’s where I excel.
‘But I’ve definitely fallen short at times in our texts and voicemail exchanges because there’s so much to communicate and so much happening.
‘All I have to say is I’m really looking forward to spending time together and I believe that’s going to go a long way for our chemistry, which I believe is there. It’s been there from the start so I was so damn excited when you agreed to do this film. I believe it comes from us both being so hard working and having a vision.
‘I’m excited to have a creative partner in that with you.’
The new audio comes as the drama over It Ends With Us rumbles on, with Lively and Reynolds facing imminent subpoenas from Baldoni’s legal team.
At the same time, lawyers working for the A-list couple have made a fresh bid to gag Baldoni’s side – writing to New York judge Lewis J. Liman in a bid to shut down a website they plan to launch which will contain copies of every text and email exchanged by the warring parties.
The letter, seen by DailyMail.com, also accuses Baldoni’s team of launching ‘character attacks’ on Lively and of making ‘false and defamatory’ statements.
It goes on to ask Judge Liman to prevent the launch of the website on the basis it could influence a jury pool and requests a conference with both sides present to discuss it.

Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment just before Christmas. At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on Lively’s legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a negative publicity campaign against her; Baldoni and Lively are seen on the set of It Ends with Us on January 12, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey

In turn, Baldoni sued the Times for defamation and launched a $400m lawsuit against Lively and her husband, claiming Lively attempted to hijack his film; Lively and Reynolds seen in 2024
The battle between Lively and Baldoni began with rumors of rancor behind the scenes of It Ends With Us when it was released last August.
It then exploded into a legal fight just before Christmas when the Gossip Girl actress sued Baldoni for sexual harassment.
At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on Lively’s legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a negative publicity campaign against her and put the smell claim front and center.
In turn, Baldoni sued the Times for defamation and, two weeks go, launched a lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds that accused her of using her celebrity power to hijack his film and attempt to torpedo his career.
Since then, torrents of new information have come to light – including raw footage of a scene that Lively claimed had seen Baldoni subject her to sexual harassment by dragging his lips up her neck and telling her ‘it smells so good’.
Lively had insisted the clip had no audio and the microphones were switched off – and therefore, nobody heard the alleged harassment.
But DailyMail.com’s raw footage proved that Baldoni’s microphone was switched on and that the alleged abuse was in fact a discussion about the smell of Lively’s fake tan – throwing her claims into doubt.
The warring co-stars are also heard discussing their other halves, with Lively saying she and Reynolds talk ‘all the time’ while Baldoni says he and wife Emily stare at each other ‘for 10, literally like we’ve done it for five minutes’.
Lively then bursts into laughter as he tells her ‘I think you would find it terrifying’. When Lively continues to tell him about how she can’t stop talking to Reynolds, Baldoni compliments: ‘Oh, I think that’s cute. You guys are really cute.’
Awkwardly, she replies ‘I think it’s more than cute’ which he hastily agrees with, adding ‘I think you guys are amazing.’

DailyMail.com previously published raw footage showing the slow dance montage scene during which Lively claimed Baldoni had sexually harassed her by nuzzling her neck and declaring: ‘It smells so good’
The incident formed a key plank of the sex harassment lawsuit Lively filed against Baldoni before Christmas, along with claims he deliberately set out to smear her and ruin her reputation.
Baldoni’s counter-suit says Lively attempted to hijack his film, failed to read the novel on which the movie is based until long after filming had begun and orchestrated a negative publicity campaign of her own with the connivance of her own publicist Leslie Sloane and the New York Times.
The actress and her team are also accused of doctoring text conversations between Baldoni’s publicists to make them look damning and as if they’re plotting a smear campaign against her – which led to both being subjected to social media abuse when the edited texts were published.
Baldoni’s cross-complaint also revealed that he and his family had been forced to spend the premiere of It Ends With Us sitting in a basement because Lively refused to allow him to be in the same room as her.