Blake Lively’s Lawyers Are Extorting Taylor Swift, Justin Baldoni Claims

Justin Baldoni‘s legal team is accusing Blake Lively‘s lawyers of trying to extort Taylor Swift, with the aim of getting the singer to issue a public statement in support of the It Ends With Us actress.

Michael Gottlieb, representing Lively, allegedly reached out to an attorney at the law firm, Venable, which represents the singer, and “demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature” in the actress’ possession would be made public, according to a letter filed in court on Wednesday by Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Baldoni.

In the letter, Freedman says that a representative for Swift “addressed these inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats” in at least one written message to Lively’s legal team. He seeks those communications since they’d substantiate claims that Lively is intimidating and coercing witnesses in the sprawling legal battle. Additional details weren’t provided beyond an undisclosed source “highly likely to have reliable information.”

Gottlieb called the accusations “categorically false.” He added, “We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality. 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. We will imminently file motions with the court to hold these attorneys accountable for their misconduct here.” 

The filling comes days after Swift was subpoenaed by Baldoni’s legal team, which declined to comment for this story. Her involvement in the dueling lawsuits relates to an incident in which Lively invited the It Ends With Us director to her New York City home in 2023 to discuss changes to a rooftop scene at the beginning of the movie. Once there, Baldoni said he was ambushed by Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and close friend, Swift, according to the lawsuit, which cites communications that include the name “Taylor.” The megastars praised Lively’s version of the scene, allegedly pressuring Baldoni to accept the revisions.

In a text, Lively referred to Reynolds and Swift as her “dragons.” The message read, “If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for.”

Venable on Monday challenged the subpoena, arguing that it the singer and firm don’t have any relevant information and that Baldoni only seeks to “distract from the facts of the case.” Lively and Reynolds supported the firm’s bid to void the subpoena.

In Wednesday’s filing, Freedman says that he expects to resolve the issue with Venable shortly since the two sides are negotiating in good faith.

Swift didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.