Blake Lively has been accused of extorting best friend Taylor Swift by Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman.
Freedman claimed that Michael Gottlieb, one of Lively’s lawyers, allegedly reached out to an attorney at the law firm Venable, which represents Swift, 35, and “demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively,” in a letter submitted to Judge Lewis J. Liman on Wednesday, May 14, and obtained by In Touch.
Freedman alleged that, if Swift refused to release a statement, “private text messages of a personal nature” in Lively’s possession would be made public.
Lively, 37, allegedly requested that Swift delete their text messages.
Baldoni’s lawyer also claimed that a rep for Swift “addressed these inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats” in a message to Lively’s legal team. He requested to subpoena these communications, as they would “evidence [Lively’s] attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation.”
Baldoni’s legal team obtained this knowledge “based on information from a source who is highly likely to have reliable information,” according to the letter.
“As stated, the Wayfarer Parties’ counsel are in active discussions with Venable to determine how to proceed,” the letter concluded. “Should those discussions prove unfruitful, the Wayfarer Parties will either oppose the motion to quash or withdraw the current Subpoena in favor of an amended subpoena seeking only the communications in question.”
Blake Lively and Taylor Swift
Gottlieb called the accusations “categorically false,” according to Us Weekly.
“We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality,” Lively’s lawyer continued. “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.”
Swift was recently subpoenaed in the ongoing legal battle between Baldoni, 41, and Lively over incidents that allegedly occurred while filming their 2024 movie It Ends With Us. Her involvement is related to an incident where Lively allegedly invited Baldoni to her home in 2023 to discuss potential changes to a rooftop scene in the film. However, he was allegedly confronted by Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and Swift at the home and pressured into accepting the changes.
“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,” Lively allegedly wrote in a text message that Baldoni’s lawyers included in January court documents, seemingly referring to Reynolds, 48, and Swift. “For better or worse, but usually better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for.”
Venable challenged Swift’s subpoena, arguing that they did not have any information that was relevant to the case, according to THR. Lively and Reynolds supported their request to void the subpoena.
Amid rumors that Lively’s lawsuits with Baldoni have damaged her longtime friendship with Swift, a source exclusively told In Touch in February that the pop star was staying “out of the drama.”
“Taylor is close with Blake and her family and is even godmother to Blake’s kids,” the insider said. “Justin’s lawsuit may be a nightmare, but they would never let something like this destroy them.”
