Lawyer denies Blake Lively tried to blackmail Swift over texts in harassment court clash

Blake Lively’s lawyer denies claims she pressured Swift to back her in Baldoni harassment case.

Blake Lively’s legal team has denied explosive claims that the actor attempted to blackmail Taylor Swift into publicly supporting her during a highly publicised legal dispute with co-star Justin Baldoni.

The accusation, made by Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman, alleges that Lively’s team threatened to leak private text messages between her and Swift unless the singer issued a statement backing Lively amid an ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit.

The allegation surfaced in a recent legal filing, which also claimed Lively had allegedly asked Swift to delete their messages. Lively’s legal team swiftly rejected both assertions, calling them entirely fabricated.

Mike Gottlieb, Lively’s attorney, described the claims as “categorically false”, adding, “We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality.”

The dispute is part of a broader legal row involving the cast of It Ends With Us, in which both Lively and Baldoni star. The film has become the backdrop for a battle that now includes allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, and attempts at media manipulation.

Baldoni’s lawyers recently confirmed they intend to subpoena Taylor Swift ahead of the March 2026 trial. Swift, 35, has since been drawn into the case, not as a participant in the events under dispute, but as a perceived point of leverage in a deepening PR war between the opposing sides.

In a statement released following the subpoena, a representative for Swift condemned what they called a “transparent attempt” to use her celebrity to generate public spectacle.

“She never saw an edit or made any notes on the film,” the spokesperson stated. “She didn’t even watch It Ends With Us until weeks after it was publicly released and was touring internationally throughout 2023 and 2024.”

The representative also clarified that Swift’s only connection to the film was licensing her song “My Tears Ricochet”, one of 20 tracks featured in the soundtrack. “This subpoena is designed to exploit her name to manufacture tabloid clickbait rather than focus on the legal facts.”

Lively’s team has moved to strike the filing from the court record, arguing that the document was irrelevant and improper. Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the request, stating, “The letter is improper and must be stricken. It is irrelevant to any issue before this court and does not request any action from this court.”

Lively’s lawyers have accused Baldoni’s team of deliberately inflaming public opinion and turning a serious legal matter into media fodder.

“This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey’s Circus,” a statement from Lively’s camp read. “The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame, and attack women’s rights and reputations.”

The statement further condemned what it described as a pattern of behaviour by “billionaire men who made their careers as female allies” and are now allegedly seeking to undermine victim protections. It also referenced a recent attempt to overturn a California victims’ rights law, calling it “disturbing”.

Swift, who remains a close friend of Lively, has made no public comment on the matter. Legal experts say her testimony—if compelled—may be limited in relevance but could fuel further media interest around the trial.

For now, the case continues to attract widespread attention, with celebrity friendships, private messages, and high-stakes reputations all on the line.