Johnny Depp’s lawyer reacts to Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively legal battle

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s brutal legal battle has caught the attention of one of the high-profile lawyers who defended Johnny Depp in the actor’s defamation trial against Amber Heard.

Benjamin Chew appeared on “Law & Crime Sidebar with Jesse Weber” Tuesday and weighed in on the “It Ends With Us” lawsuit — including Baldoni’s move to launch a website with an amended version of his $400 million lawsuit against Lively, 37, as well as a timeline of events relevant to the case.

“I think it is very aggressive,” said Chew. “Usually you would not do something like that before a hearing, but I’m sure that they vetted it carefully, vetted the material carefully.”

“But it’s a novel approach, a bold approach,” the attorney added.

Chew declined to say which star he thinks currently has the upper-hand in the legal battle.

“I’m gonna remain agnostic in terms of who has the edge right now,” he said.

Chew and Camille Vasquez were Depp’s attorneys for his highly publicized 2022 Virginia defamation case against Heard, 38.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor, 61, sued his ex-wife for defamation over an op-ed she wrote about surviving domestic abuse despite not naming the star in her article. The jury sided with Depp, and after reaching a settlement, Heard was ordered to pay him $1 million in damages.

Based on his own experience from the Depp-Heard trial, Chew explained the type of evidence that will probably win in court for Lively and Baldoni’s case.

“I think the more they can cite to audio tape and video tape, that is particularly persuasive evidence because everyone can see it, and I think that is more impactful than just assertions of counsel,” he said.

Chew was also asked about the text messages that Baldoni leaked on his website that showed Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, (who is also being sued by Baldoni) telling the “Jane the Virgin” actor, 41, that “I happen to adore you.”

“I think anything that shows him being cordial and correct and normal is evidence certainly that he can cite to say, ‘Look, I’m not the kind of person to make someone’s wife or any woman uncomfortable on the set,’” Chew said.

“On the other hand,” the lawyer added, “I don’t think any respectful communications between the parties before the fact really count against that person.”

Chew explained, “We had a witness in the Depp case, for example, who said very nice things about Amber. I think the other side was surprised, cause this was our witness. But later on after what was maintained where the false allegations were made, he said, ‘I couldn’t talk to her anymore.’ And I think that made his testimony more persuasive, cause this is not somebody who always had it in for this person. So I think you really have to differentiate time periods.”

In December, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni accusing the “It Ends With Us” director of sexual harassment and orchestrating a public smear campaign against her — allegations he denied through his lawyer, Bryan Freedman.

Baldoni, in turn, filed a $400 million lawsuit Lively and Reynolds, 48, for alleged defamation, civil extortion, false light invasion of privacy and more. Lively’s lawyers denied Baldoni’s claims.

Last week, Baldoni filed the amended complaint to his lawsuit in court and included the explosive legal documents on his website. Baldoni’s claims include that Lively allegedly spent $430,000 of the “It Ends With Us” budget on her wardrobe and that she allegedly skipped a meeting with the film’s intimacy coordinator.

Lively and Baldoni’s trial has been scheduled for March 2026.