It’s been three months since Blake Lively first levelled her allegations of sexual harassment against her ‘It Ends with Us’ co-star, Justin Baldoni in December. But already the mud-slinging is in full force, with reports suggesting that ‘dozens’ of celebrities could be dragged into their legal war.

With Blake’s close pal Taylor Swift said to be ‘not happy’ after having already been pulled into the toxic feud, last week a source revealed how Blake’s husband Ryan Reynolds’ friend Hugh Jackman could be the next high-profile star to have their name associated with the hugely public battle.

Ryan, 48, was reportedly filming for the 2024 Marvel film, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at the time that filming for Blake, 37, and Justin’s romantic drama began.

Now sources have revealed that his co-star Hugh could be deposed in court to give an insight into Ryan’s conduct and behaviour during that time.

A source said, ‘Baldoni’s legal team is doing everything they need to do to get a full scope of Ryan’s conduct during the time that ‘It Ends with Us’ was filmed.

‘As Ryan’s good friend, who starred in the film and was with Blake and Ryan many times in private during that time, his deposition will likely be crucial. They are not going to leave any stone unturned.’

The deposition – as it is called in legal terms – would mean that Hugh, 58, would have to swear under oath before providing a statement to the courts, although it is not clear whether he would have to be questioned by Baldoni’s legal team. And with the trial date set for March 29th 2026, a source now tells Closer that while Hugh is hoping the case will be settled outside of the New York courtroom, he is feeling anxious over how the toxic feud could impact his own reputation in Hollywood, as well as affecting his close ‘bromance’ with Ryan.

An insider says, ‘A lot of people are saying that this will never make it all the way to court, but if it does Hugh has already been warned that Justin’s lawyers will want to depose him, which is obviously going to be pretty uncomfortable.

‘The worry of course is that it could ultimately come between him and Ryan because it’s bound to be embarrassing. Even from an image perspective this is not a case that anyone wants to get involved with, because there’s bound to be collateral damage on both sides.

‘As a friend, Hugh is going to take Ryan’s side and so far he’s been very supportive, but there’s a limit to how far he will want to go. It’s a huge risk because if things go south for Ryan and Blake everyone associated with them will likely suffer too.’

In December it emerged how Blake and Ryan had filed a lawsuit against Justin, 41, for ‘repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour’ and creating a ‘hostile environment’ on set. However, a month later, Justin – who has been married to wife Emily Baldoni since 2013 – filed his own counter lawsuit for £300 million ($400 million), alleging that Blake and Ryan had set out to destroy his career and reputation.

Since the divorce of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Blake and Justin’s battle has perhaps been one of the most public and media-led so far, with both parties leaking private messages and information.

Intimate text exchanges between the pair have been leaked, with fans and the public just as caught up in the toxicity as the stars themselves.

While some fans have accused Blake of being ‘flirty’ and being ‘caught’ by Ryan, others have said her exchanges with Justin were just ‘normal conversation’. Now the source adds, ‘The fact is, things aren’t cut and dried with it [the case]. There are a lot of questions coming up about what exactly happened and plenty of people feel Ryan and Blake may have overstepped the boundaries.’

And the source says that, following his sudden split from wife of 27-years, actress Deborra-Lee Furness in 2023, Hugh is cautious of protecting his own reputation after rumours circulated over whether he and girlfriend Sutton Foster had become close while he was still married.

The source explains, ‘At the end of the day, Hugh does still have to look out for himself, the same way Ryan would. Hugh’s not going to want to risk any damage to his image, especially not at a time when things are already shaky for him on the PR front.

‘The fallout from his messy divorce has definitely soured a lot of people on him. For so many years he’s been known as this loyal family man, people loved that about him, and now he’s shattered that by leaving Debs and taking up with Sutton. There’s no doubt his public persona and approval rating has taken a huge hit.

‘He’s doing what he can to make fans forget and still clinging to his good guy image, but if and when he gets dragged into Ryan’s court case, who knows what the fan reaction will be?’

And this isn’t the first time that Blake and Ryan’s friends have been rumoured to have distanced themselves from the couple. Despite sources insisting that Taylor is still close to Blake, the source says the ‘Shake it Off’ singer is wary of getting too caught up in her friend’s legal drama.
And they say Hugh, who attended the premiere of ‘It Ends with Us’ to support Blake and Ryan, is taking note…

‘Taylor Swift was already driven off by it. It’s just a very bad look,’ the source says.

‘And, knowing Hugh, he’ll have no choice but to do the same if push comes to shove, because his career is everything to him and it’s possible he’ll be told by his team to keep his distance, too.

‘Of course he’s furious; this has the potential to totally end a friendship he values. Being pals with Ryan has also naturally been very mutually beneficial from a publicity perspective. This situation, and the prospect of being called up in court, on the other hand, has cast a pretty dark cloud on things.’