Blake Lively's escalating legal clash with It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni took another dramatic turn this week as Baldoni's lawyers accused Lively's legal team of threatening to release Taylor Swift's private text messages if the pop star refused to publicly support Lively in the lawsuit. The allegations, detailed in a court filing on Wednesday, were immediately denied by Lively's attorney, who called them "categorically false."
The filing was submitted by Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman in response to efforts by Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, to quash a subpoena served to Venable LLP, the law firm representing Swift. Baldoni's team argues the subpoena is justified and alleges that "a source who is highly likely to have reliable information" tipped them off about an effort by Lively to pressure Swift into issuing a public statement.
According to the letter, Lively's attorney Michael Gottlieb allegedly contacted Swift's legal representatives at Venable and "demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively," while "intimating that if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively's possession would be released."
Freedman also alleged that Swift's counsel had replied in writing to what were described as "extortionate threats," and that Baldoni's legal team now seeks access to those communications through the subpoena process. "It is those communications that the Wayfarer Parties seek to obtain," he wrote, characterizing them as an effort to "intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation."
Gottlieb issued a sharp denial. "We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality," he said in a statement, adding that Baldoni's lawyers "appear to love nothing more than shooting first, without any evidence, and with no care for the people they are harming in the process."
Swift, 35, was subpoenaed last week as part of the countersuit filed by Baldoni, 41, who is seeking $400 million in damages after Lively accused him of sexual harassment and retaliation. His suit alleges defamation and extortion.
In a rare public response, Swift's representative distanced the singer from the project. "Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film," her rep said. "The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, 'My Tears Ricochet.'"
Venable, in its own response, said it has "nothing to do with the film at issue or any of the claims or defenses asserted in the underlying lawsuit" and called the subpoena a distraction meant to exploit Swift's celebrity.
The filing also references Lively's past comments during a 2024 interview on CBS Mornings, in which she described Swift as having been with her "throughout this whole process." Text messages entered into the court record previously showed Lively referring to Swift and Reynolds as her "dragons" who "protect" her.
Baldoni's lawsuit argues that Swift and Reynolds' influence was deliberately used to manipulate the power dynamic during film production. "The message could not have been clearer," the filing reads. "Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively's 'dragons,' two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world."
Lively's representative pushed back against the framing, saying, "This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey's Circus. The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame and attack women's rights and reputations."
A separate source told People that actor Hugh Jackman, also close to Swift and Reynolds, might face a subpoena as well. However, another insider dismissed the possibility, calling such claims "smoke and mirrors" aimed at distracting from the harassment allegations against Baldoni.
