Blake Lively’s court battle with “It Ends with Us” co-star Justin Baldoni has cast a spotlight on her friendship with Taylor Swift, including new claims that Lively pressured the pop star to get involved in the legal matter.
A week after media speculation emerged that Swift had been subpoenaed in the actors’ lawsuit, which combines Lively’s previous suit alleging sexual misconduct by Baldoni and Baldoni’s complaint against the New York Times for its reporting on the case, Baldoni’s attorneys sent a letter to Judge Lewis Liman on May 14 doubling down on their request for the subpoena, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
In late April, Baldoni’s attorneys filed a notice of intent to subpoena Venable LLP, a national law firm that has represented Swift in the past (most notably in her 2015 sexual assault lawsuit against radio DJ David Mueller), per additional court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 13.
In the May 14 letter to Judge Liman, Baldoni’s legal team — led by attorney Bryan Freedman — pushed back against Lively’s claim that the subpoena seeks “irrelevant information.” The attorneys said the order can shed light on “witness tampering,” including Lively’s alleged communications with Swift and her legal team.
Baldoni’s attorneys, who have reportedly been in contact with a “source who is highly likely to have reliable information,” claim Lively requested that Swift delete their text messages. Additionally, Lively’s attorney, Michael Gottlieb, allegedly contacted a Venable attorney representing Swift and demanded that she release a “statement of support” for Lively amid her legal battle with Baldoni.
Per Baldoni’s lawyers’ allegations, Gottlieb’s demand for a statement included the threat that private text messages between the women would be released if Swift did not comply.
USA TODAY has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment.
Baldoni’s attorneys argue the subpoena would allow them to obtain these communications, including an alleged written message from Swift’s representative that addresses Lively’s request for public support. The actor’s legal team added that such communications would show “an attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation.”
Taylor Swift’s spokesperson blasts subpoena in Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni case
Blake Lively attorney denies Taylor Swift claims
In a May 14 statement to USA TODAY, attorney Michael Gottlieb denied Baldoni’s attorneys’ “categorically false” claims that Lively pressured Swift and her legal team to lend support.
“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.”
Baldoni’s media production company, Wayfarer Studios, is listed as a party in his and Lively’s ongoing lawsuit.
Additionally, Lively’s attorneys filed an opposing motion asking the court to throw out the May 14 letter, calling the filing “baseless,” as well as “unnecessary, improper and abusive.”
Taylor Swift spokesperson criticizes subpoena request
The requested order would require Venable to disclose all case-related communications with Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, who is also a party in the lawsuit, as well as relevant documentation and attorney communications about Lively, according to court documents.
In response, Venable filed a motion on May 12 seeking to cancel the subpoena, which Lively and Reynold’s legal team joined in on. The A-list couple also filed their own intervening motion to strike down the subpoena request.
In a May 9 statement to the USA TODAY Network, a spokesperson for Swift emphasized the singer’s minimal involvement with Lively and Baldoni’s film “It Ends with Us.”
“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,” the representative said.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Contributing: Bryan West, USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blake Lively allegedly pressured Taylor Swift for support amid lawsuit
