Blake Lively accused of pressuring Taylor Swift amid legal battle with Justin Baldoni
Blake Lively's friendship with music superstar Taylor Swift is now at the center of her legal battle with her former "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni.
In a new court filing Wednesday, attorneys for Baldoni claim Lively pressured Swift to get involved in the legal back and forth, which first began in December.
That month, Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of "It Ends With Us," which he also directed. Lively and Baldoni subsequently launched dueling lawsuits against each other, with Lively alleging that Baldoni and key stakeholders of the film sexually harassed her and attempted, along with Baldoni's production company and crisis PR company, The Agency Group PR, to orchestrate a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni denied the allegations via a statement from his attorney, who called Lively's actions "shameful" for making "serious and categorically false accusations" against Baldoni.
Baldoni later sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, the couple's publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloane's public relations company, Vision PR, for extortion and defamation, among other things.
Lively's lawyers called Baldoni's lawsuit "another chapter in the abuser playbook" and accused Baldoni of "trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni."
Earlier this month, Swift was subpoenaed by Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman.
Lawyers for Lively and Reynolds responded by trying to block the subpoena, which Baldoni's attorneys argued was necessary.
Citing "a source," Baldoni's legal team claims in Wednesday's court filing that Lively's attorney "demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively" amid the legal scuffle, alleging that "if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively's possession would be released."
Baldoni's attorneys allege in the new filing that, "Lively requested that Taylor Swift delete their text messages." The court filing also claims that "a representative of Ms. Swift addressed these inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication."
In response, Lively's lawyer, Mike Gottlieb, asked the court to strike the documents as "unnecessary, improper and abusive."
Gottleib said in a statement to ABC News Wednesday that the allegations made in Baldoni's court filing are "categorically false."
"This is categorically false. We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality," Gottlieb said. "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."
Taylor Swift spokesperson responds to subpoena in Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni legal feud
Baldoni's initial complaint against Lively, filed in January, detailed a text message he allegedly received from Lively in which Baldoni claims Lively referred to Swift and Reynolds as her "dragons." The complaint claimed Lively leveraged her relationships with high profile individuals like Swift and Reynolds to exert her influence over the film.
Swift has not responded to ABC News' request for comment about the latest court filing.
In response to being subpoenaed, a spokesperson for Swift said she was only involved in licensing her song "My Tears Ricochet" for the film and was never on set.
"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, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history," the spokesperson said. "The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, 'My Tears Ricochet.'"
The spokesperson added, "Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift's name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case."
Lively and Baldoni are due to appear in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 9, 2026.
Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends with Us' legal battle: A timeline
Read more about the Lively-Baldoni legal battle here.
Blake Lively accused of pressuring Taylor Swift amid legal battle with Justin Baldoni originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Buzz Feed
11 Times Celebs Clashed While Filming Movies, TV Shows
1. By now, it's pretty well known that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni did NOT get along while playing love interests in the film It Ends with Us. Blake accused Justin of alleged sexual harassment and other misconduct, which sparked a contentious legal battle, though Justin's $400-million countersuit was ultimately dismissed. You can read more about that right here. 2. Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh seemingly fell out while filming Don't Worry Darling (2022). Not only did Florence admit that she was unhappy with the movie's hypersexualized marketing, which was largely pushed by Olivia, but things got a whole lot messier after Olivia's infamous 'Miss Flo' phone call leaked. Then came the painfully awkward press tour, which saw Florence skipping a key conference and seemingly avoiding all interaction with Olivia. You can read more about the drama right here. 3. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's feud with Vin Diesel appeared to begin around 2016, while they were shooting the eighth instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise. After Dwayne hinted that he'd clashed with some of the men on set, it quickly became clear that he and Vin did not get on at all. The discord went on for almost a decade, though a few months ago, Vin hinted that he and Dwayne are on good terms now, giving him a sweet shoutout at the 2025 Golden Globes. You can read a full breakdown of their feud here. 4. Alex Pettyfer told the Hollywood Reporter that his Magic Mike costar Channing Tatum disliked him 'for many reasons,' including his standoffish behavior on set and the fact that he did not pay Channing's friend four months' worth of rent after renting their apartment. You can read his quotes here. 5. In 2021, Lucy Liu revealed that she confronted Bill Murray on the set of the 2000 film Charlie's Angels after he insulted her on set. "Some of the language was inexcusable and unacceptable, and I was not going to just sit there and take it," she said. "So, yes, I stood up for myself, and I don't regret it. Because no matter how low on the totem pole you may be or wherever you came from, there's no need to condescend or to put other people down." Lucy revealed that she's remained on good terms with Bill. You can read more about the confrontation right here. 6. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air star Janet Hubert (the original Aunt Viv) clashed on set with leading star Will Smith while shooting the third season of the sitcom, during which she was pregnant. She shared in 2020, 'There were a lot of things going on in my life and in Will's life as well. There was some friction because I was pregnant. Home life was not good at all. I was no longer laughing, smiling, joking because there were things going on that nobody knew about. The cast had no idea what was going on.' Will also admitted, 'During that time of her pregnancy, I wasn't sensitive. I wasn't perceptive.' You can read more about this — and them resolving their feud — right here. 7. Rebel Wilson once described working with Sacha Baron Cohen on the 2016 film The Brothers Grimsby as 'outrageous.' She purportedly claimed, 'Every single day he's like, 'Rebel, can you just go naked in this scene?' And I'm like, 'No!'' A decade later, Rebel and Sacha got into a dispute after the Pitch Perfect star claimed she was being 'threatened' by him and his PR team ahead of the release of her memoir, which featured a chapter describing him as an 'asshole.' Sacha's team later denied Rebel's allegations. You can read more here. 8. In 2020, Boy Meets World star Trina McGee called out some of her costars for their treatment of her on set. She tweeted, 'Called aunt Jemima on set during hair and make up. Called a bitter bitch when I quietly waited for my scene to finish rehearsing that was being f'ed up over and over due to episode featuring my character,' later revealing that Will Friedle was the one who called her the racist trope. Trina also said that she confronted one of her castmates for their behavior, though her discomfort was dismissed. You can read more about her experience, and the Boy Meets World cast's apologies, here. 9. To say that Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy clashed on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road would be a massive understatement. In 2022, Charlize admitted she was left so intimated by Tom that she requested additional protection on set, while the film's editor, J. Houston Yang, said: 'Boy fucking howdy, was it clear that those two people hated each other. They didn't want to touch each other, they didn't want to look at each other, they wouldn't face each other if the camera wasn't actively rolling.' You can find a full breakdown of their feud right here. 10. While shooting the 2006 film Annapolis, James Franco and Tyrese Gibson butted heads. In 2007, Tyrese claimed of James: 'I respect method actors, but he never snapped out of character. Whenever we'd have to get in the ring for boxing scenes, and even during practice, the dude was full-on hitting never lightened up.' James later denied hitting Tyrese on purpose, though he took 'full blame for any problems on that film.' He said, 'If he had a bad experience working with me, I was probably a jerk. I was not purposely cruel to him, but I was probably so wrapped up in my performance that I was not as friendly as I could have been.' You can read more here. 11. And finally, Isaiah Washington famously got into a physical altercation with Patrick Dempsey on the set of Grey's Anatomy in 2006. Isaiah was accused of using an anti-gay slur against one of their Grey's costars amid the fight, which he denied. Ultimately, he was fired from the show — and according to Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes, the cast is still 'traumatized' by the fight. You can read more about the fight here. Can you think of any other times that celebrities clashed with their costars? If so, let me know in the comments!
Buzz Feed
2 days ago
- Buzz Feed
Ryan Reynolds Talks Online Critics After Baldoni Lawsuit
Ryan Reynolds addressed his public image after months of nonsense stemming from the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni lawsuits. Last December, Blake accused her It Ends With Us co-star and director of sexual harassment and a subsequent retaliation campaign. Justin then sued Blake and Ryan, alleging that they were trying to destroy his reputation, but that lawsuit was recently tossed out by the judge. Justin's team had the option to amend some of their complaints, but they did not. Despite most of Justin's claims obviously being, in my opinion, bullshit, take a look at a post that even mentions Ryan and you'll be met with comments like these: (This is on a post about an Australian sailing team Ryan recently bought with Hugh Jackman, and doesn't even have his face). In a new interview with Time about his numerous business ventures (specifically, Maximum Effort), Ryan declined to comment directly on the legal issues. However, he was asked about whether "tabloids and online discourse" have affected his business ventures. To that, the 48-year-old replied, "I can read something that says, 'He should be drawn and quartered.' I could read something that says I should win a Nobel Prize. Both are meaningless." 'None of us are comprised of our best moments. None of us are defined by our worst moments. We are something in the middle," he added. When later pressed on whether headlines affect his brand and business relationships, Ryan said, "Accessibility and accountability are a big part of how I do people that I work with know me, so there's never a question of anything like that. If you operate with some degree of core values and integrity, they're going to help you up. If you're an asshole, they're not. And that's pretty simple.' Ryan attributes his ability to remain calm to the aftermath of a "brawl" with one of his friends when he was younger. "I skipped rehab in my 20s and decided to go to conflict-resolution workshops in Santa Fe,' he recalled. 'Conflict resolution changed my life in a way that I can't quantify. You don't have to agree with the person. You can empathize, you can validate. You can do all those things and get closer to them without having to just blindly agree or win or lose.' After all, Ryan says that his value "comes from having four kids and a good self-worth isn't farmed out to any one thing that isn't under the roof of my home.' And I'm sure that noooooooone is going to reveal they've joined a borderline conspiracy group in the comments...
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Justin Baldoni drops plans for amended claims against Blake Lively
He will not be proceeding with refiling claims in his countersuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds amid their It Ends with Us legal feud. Two weeks after Judge Lewis J Liman granted motions to dismiss the $400 million (£294 million) countersuit Baldoni originally filed against Lively and husband, the actor-director's lawyer Bryan Freedman announced they were not submitting any amendments. The judge had noted that Baldoni could still amend his claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract.
