Blake Lively’s Lawyers Fight Back Against Taylor Swift Blackmail Accusation: ‘Unequivocally and Demonstrably False’

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Legal representation for Blake Lively is refuting allegations made by attorney Bryan Freedman on behalf of Justin Baldoni, which claim that someone from Lively’s legal team attempted to blackmail Taylor Swift into issuing a public endorsement in favor of the actress from “A Simple Favor.

In a letter submitted to the court and Judge Liman on Wednesday, attorney Michael Gottlieb from Willkie Farr (representing the Lively Defendants) contacted an attorney at Venable (who represents Taylor Swift), asking her to issue a statement of support for Ms. Lively. He hinted that if Taylor Swift declined, they might release personal text messages belonging to Ms. Lively.

Or simply:

In a court letter on Wednesday, Michael Gottlieb from Willkie Farr (Lively Defendants’ lawyers) asked Venable attorney (Taylor Swift’s lawyer), for Taylor Swift’s support statement for Ms. Lively, implying that if she didn’t comply, they might release her private texts.

The assertion made by Freedman can’t be confirmed independently, as it depends entirely on details from a nameless source who’s believed to have credible information. There are no additional sources cited in Freedman’s submission that back up this claim.

In a message sent to EbMaster, Gottlieb vigorously denied the claim, labeling it as “completely unfounded” and “traced back to supposedly anonymous sources, with no connection to truth whatsoever.

Gottlieb stated that it’s typical of Wayfarer parties’ lawyers to act impulsively, firing without evidence and disregarding the people they hurt in the process. He indicated that legal actions will soon be taken to the court to ensure these attorneys are held responsible for their misconduct.

Lively’s group subsequently submitted a strongly-worded letter to Judge Liman, requesting that Freedman’s allegations be expunged from the court records.

In the name of our client, Blake Lively, we politely ask to discard the letter written by Mr. Bryan Freedman, submitted today. This letter, lacking any substantiating evidence or sworn declaration, wrongly implicates Ms. Lively and her legal team in ‘witness tampering and evidence destruction’, based on an unidentified source that has not been disclosed.

In my viewpoint, I find it unnecessary to address unverified accusations carelessly flung without substantiating proof. However, for clarity’s sake, let me make it clear that every claim made in the Freedman Letter is indisputably and evidentially untrue. Legally speaking, the Freedman Letter is misguided. It doesn’t ask for any form of remedy, has no connection with any case currently under court consideration, and lacks any beneficial purpose. The letter holds no value to the court in any aspect.

The ongoing exchange arises following an attempt by Taylor Swift’s legal team at Venable LLP to invalidate a subpoena issued on May 9, demanding the production of documents. This action was connected to Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit, which was initiated in January. The suit included text messages between Lively and Baldoni where Lively seemed to call Swift one of her “dragons.” After the subpoena became public knowledge, a representative for Swift declared that she had no involvement in Lively and Baldoni’s movie “It Ends with Us,” which is the basis for their legal dispute.

As a devoted fan, I must clarify that Taylor Swift had no direct involvement with this movie. She didn’t step foot on the film set, nor did she participate in any casting or creative decisions. She wasn’t responsible for scoring the film, and she never watched an edit or provided any feedback during its production. In fact, she only saw “It Ends With Us” after it was publicly released, and during 2023 and 2024, she was busy touring globally, headlining what became the biggest tour in history.

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2025-05-15 05:16