Justin Baldoni's legal representatives have dropped another bombshell in their ongoing lawsuit against Blake Lively. On Wednesday, Baldoni's legal team submitted a document asserting that the "It Ends With Us" actress threatened her close confidante, Taylor Swift, with the release of personal texts unless Swift publicly expressed support for Lively during her legal spat with a co-star, according to People magazine.
Mike Gottlieb, Lively's attorney, issued a statement to Fox News Digital, flatly denying the allegations and branding them as "categorically false." Gottlieb exclaimed, "We vehemently reject these fabricated claims, which are cowardly attributed to unnamed sources and utterly disconnected from reality. This behavior aligns perfectly with the tactics employed by the Wayfarer parties' lawyers, who seem to thrive on launching unfounded attacks first, without any proof, and disregarding the harm they cause to others in the process." He further stated, "We will promptly file motions with the court to ensure these attorneys are held accountable for their unethical conduct."
On the same day, Lively's legal team submitted a motion urging the court to dismiss the accusations as "unfounded, superfluous, inappropriate, and abusive," they informed Fox News Digital. "It should be unnecessary to address anonymously sourced, frivolous allegations thrown around recklessly without any backup evidence. However, it's crucial to emphasize that each of the allegations outlined in the Freedman Letter is unequivocally and unmistakably false. Legally speaking, the Freedman Letter is improper," Lively's legal counsel emphasized.
Fox News Digital obtained court documents revealing that Lively's motion to dismiss Baldoni's letter was granted. Lively's spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The court, in less than 24 hours, saw through Mr. Freedman's irrelevant, improper, and inflammatory accusations, dismissed them, removed them from the court records, and warned Mr. Freedman that further misconduct could lead to sanctions."
On May 14, Baldoni's team insisted that subpoenaing Swift was vital for the case. "The Lively defendants' contention that the subpoena seeks irrelevant information is incorrect," Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, wrote. Freedman revealed that he had received a tip from an anonymous "source with a high likelihood of possessing reliable information," who claimed that Lively had requested Swift to delete specific texts.
Freedman further alleged that Lively's legal team had reached out to Swift's legal representatives, "demanding that Ms. Swift issue a statement of support for Ms. Lively," and hinted that if Swift refused, "private, personal texts in Ms. Lively's possession would be made public."
On May 9th, Taylor Swift found herself served with a subpoena, summoning her to testify as a witness in the legal tug-of-war between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Hardly had the news broken into the public domain when a spokesperson for Swift swiftly refuted any substantial ties the pop sensation had to the 2024 film beyond licensing her track "My Tears Ricochet." This melancholic melody adorned both the movie's trailer and a pivotal scene.
In an earlier statement to Fox News Digital, Swift's representative clarified, "Taylor Swift never ventured onto the set of this film. She played no part in casting decisions nor contributed creatively in any capacity. She didn't compose the film's score, nor did she review edits or offer notes. In fact, she only caught a glimpse of 'It Ends With Us' weeks after its public debut, amidst her globe-trotting tour that marked history's largest."
The spokesperson further emphasized, "Taylor's sole connection to the film was the authorization of one song, 'My Tears Ricochet.' Considering numerous other artists, totaling 19, also licensed their music for the film, this subpoena appears to exploit Taylor Swift's name as clickbait to garner tabloid attention, diverting focus from the case's core issues."
Starring opposite each other in the romantic drama "It Ends with Us," adapted from Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel and premiered in August 2024, Lively and Baldoni found themselves entangled in legal disputes following whispers of behind-the-scenes strife. In January, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of civil extortion, defamation, among other claims, with Swift's name figuring prominently.
This lawsuit by the "Jane the Virgin" actor came on the heels of Lively's December filing, which alleged sexual harassment by Baldoni during the filming of "It Ends With Us." Baldoni, however, countered that Lively's accusations were "false," an attempt to salvage her tarnished reputation stemming from the film's turbulent press tour, which he claimed she orchestrated.
To bolster his argument that Lively had wrested control of the production, Baldoni's legal eagles hinted at the actress leveraging her friendship with the internationally renowned Swift to intimidate him. During production, Lively insisted on reworking the iconic rooftop scene, to which Baldoni initially balked but agreed to consider her revisions.
Subsequently, Lively invited Baldoni to her New York City abode, where he alleges he felt the combined might of Swift and Reynolds bear down on him to incorporate the revised scene. According to the complaint, Baldoni later felt compelled to inform Lively via text that he had appreciated her contributions and hadn't needed the duo's coercion.
His message read, "I really love what you did. It really does help a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor [emoji] You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to do this together.)"
Lively's lengthy response likened Swift and Reynolds to "dragons" fiercely guarding her. With neither party showing signs of backing down, the legal battle is poised to unfold in a New York court in March 2026.
