Blake Lively Clashes With Justin Baldoni's Lawyer, Accuses Him of 'Smear Campaign' in Deposition Transcript

Blake Lively didn't hold back during her July 31 deposition, targeting Justin Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, as part of an alleged smear campaign against her, according to a report.

Freedman probed Lively on when she thought Baldoni's smear campaign ended, according to court documents.

The Gossip Girl star shot back, "It doesn't feel like it's ended."

When asked if the campaign was "still ongoing," Lively replied, "It feels that way, ya."

"Who do you believe is involved in the ongoing smear campaign?" Freedman asked.

"I believe that the defendants are involved," she maintained. "Outside of what I know through attorneys, I believe that the defendants are involved."

When pushed to clarify, Lively stated, "All of them," and added pointedly, "and I believe you are."

Freedman pressed Lively for the "basis" of her assumption that he and the defendants were involved.

She responded, "Outside of what I know through my attorneys, I believe the act of a retaliatory lawsuit and the press that you have done and the statements that you have made about me and my character have felt incredibly retaliatory."

Lively's team has previously accused Baldoni's attorneys of "immediately" leaking deposition details to the media. Upon being questioned further about the alleged smear campaign's activities, she said, "Like I said, outside of conversations with my attorney, I'm unable to answer that."

The deposition took place at Lively's legal team's New York City office, where Baldoni was present. The documents released comprise only a fraction of the actual deposition.

Lively's lawyers accused Baldoni and his team of leaking information to tabloids in an effort to frame the deposition as a dramatic face-off between the two actors, according to an August 4 report.

The court documents clarified that Lively "testified across the table from Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, all of whom attended this deposition in person, as well as eight attorneys representing the Wayfarer and Wallace Parties, two of whom questioned her," asserting that Baldoni's team was trying to "create a media circus."

"This is a serious matter of sexual harassment and retaliation, and it deserves to be treated as such," a representative for Lively told People.

Her legal motion also indicated that Baldoni's team appeared to suggest she needed extensive support during her testimony.

Recently, Lively scored a small legal win, with a judge ruling to strike her deposition transcript from the docket. However, the disputes between the parties continue, with Lively embroiled in a lawsuit against Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios for alleged sexual harassment on the set of their film It Ends With Us, which Baldoni has firmly denied.

Moreover, Lively is also suing Baldoni's publicity team for allegedly orchestrating a smear campaign following her harassment claims. One of her claims against public relations expert Jed Wallace was dismissed in July.

Amid all this, Baldoni countersued both Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of extortion and defamation, though a judge dismissed his $400 million suit in June.