Just when we thought the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni couldn’t get any messier, a week of headlines involving a Taylor Swift court summons, threats of blackmail, and a judge’s verdict on the matter, gave us tabloid whiplash.
One minute we were discussing what a potential Taylor Swift subpoena would mean for the case, and the next we’re digesting an affidavit filed by Baldoni’s lawyer that claimed Lively’s team had attempted to strong arm the superstar into speaking out.
So, when details of the legal letter surfaced online, along with the allegations that Blake Lively had blackmailed Taylor Swift into publicly supporting the actress in her legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, Swifties and skeptics alike had questions.
So what exactly is going on between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift and how did we get here? Below, we unpack the latest legal drama surrounding the Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively lawsuit.
May 14: Baldoni’s Lawyer Files Letter Outlining Blackmail Claims
Following an attempt from Lively’s legal team to quash the previously filed Taylor Swift subpoena, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, responded by filing a letter with the court.
In the letter, Freedman denied Lively’s assertion that his subpoena was filed under the guise of soliciting “irrelevant information” and accused Lively of “witness tampering and evidence spoliation.”
Furthermore, he claimed to have received a tip from “a source who is highly likely to have reliable information,” who allegedly had information regarding Lively’s attorney contacting Swift’s legal team, per People.
The exchange, the source purported “demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively” and “intimating that if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively’s possession would be released.”
While there remains no evidence of such claims, Freedman said that the subpoena submitted for Taylor Swift would attempt to obtain any communications between her and Blake Lively to use as evidence.
May 14: Blake Lively Denies Allegations Of Blackmail
Almost as soon as the bombshell claims hit headlines, Lively’s legal team came out swinging with a statement calling the contents of the letter “categorically false.”
“We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality,” legal counsel for Blake Lively, Mike Gottlieb, wrote in a statement shared with People.
“This is what we have come to expect from the Wayfarer parties’ lawyers, who appear to love nothing more than shooting first, without any evidence, and with no care for the people they are harming in the process,” the statement continued. “We will imminently file motions with the court to hold these attorneys accountable for their misconduct here.”
May 14: Lively’s Legal Team Request Letter To Be Struck From Court Record
Immediately after releasing their statement denying Freedman’s accusations, one of Lively’s lawyers, Esra Hudson, filed an official request to have the letter and its contents dismissed.
“That letter, which was not filed with any evidentiary support of any kind, much less anything under oath, falsely accuses Ms. Lively, and her counsel, of engaging in ‘witness tampering and evidence spoliation’ based on an undisclosed anonymous source,” the legal request outlined.
“It should be unnecessary to respond to anonymously sourced, baseless, allegations recklessly leveled without any supporting evidence,” the document continued. “It is worth stating for the record, however, that each of the allegations in the Freedman Letter is unequivocally and demonstrably false.”
In the letter to U.S District Court Judge Lewis J. Liman, lawyers for Lively also questioned the intent of Freedman’s letter, accusing Baldoni’s team of attempting to “launder scandalous and defamatory allegations” and “abusing the Court’s docket.”
May 15: Freedman Doubles-Down With Signed Affidavit
According to People, Freedman fired back with a signed affidavit – which holds penalties of perjury – claiming he had personally taken an hour-long phone call with a “person very closely linked to Taylor Swift.”
The anonymous source allegedly told Freedman that Lively’s lawyer had apparently contacted Taylor Swift’s lawyer with a request to make a social media statement in support of Blake.
Failing to do so, the affidavit continued, would lead to Lively releasing “10 years’ of private texts with Ms. Swift.” Freedman also claimed that the source had told him that Blake Lively had requested that Taylor Swift delete evidence of their past text exchanged “four or five months” prior.
Attempting to add credibility to the claims, Freedman revealed that he was connected with the anonymous source through a “mutual friend, who informed me that the individual wanted to talk.”
May 15: Judge Grants Lively’s Motion To Strike Freedman’s Claims
On May 15, Judge Liman granted the motion to remove Freedman’s letter and affidavit from the case filings.
He called Freedman’s attempt “improper” and “irrelevant to any issue before this Court,” and labelled the latest update as an exercised designed to “promote public scandal.”
The judge also advised Freedman that any future misuse of the Court’s docket “may be met with sanctions.”
May 15: Lively’s Legal Team Responds To Judge’s Decision
In a statement shared with The Cut, a spokesperson for Lively applauded the Judge’s swift response, writing: “It took the court less than 24 hours to see through Mr. Freedman’s irrelevant, improper and inflammatory accusations, strike them, remove them from the court and warn Mr. Freedman that further misconduct may be meet with sanctions.”
The latest update isn’t the first time Baldoni’s legal team has been called out for attempting to manipulate the court of public opinion with inflammatory claims. Following news of the subpoena being issued, a spokesperson for Taylor Swift accused Baldoni’s lawyers of using her name to “draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait.”
What This Means For The Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Case
The ruling doesn’t end the lawsuit between Lively and Baldoni, which is still set to go to trial in 2026. But it does clear Lively of one of the most inflammatory claims being thrown around – and removes Taylor Swift from the firing line, and more importantly, the narrative.
And if we know anything about the ongoing It Ends With Us legal drama, it’s that we’ve come to know these alleged tactics employed by Baldoni’s team, all too well.
Related articles:
- What Does Taylor Swift’s Subpoena Mean In Justin Baldoni’s Lawsuit?
- The Blake Lively Justin Baldoni Legal Battle, Explained
- Justin Baldoni Sues Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds For $400m
