Blake Lively seeks protective order against Justin Baldoni's team over Taylor Swift communications

Fox News

2 days ago

Blake Lively is seeking a protective order against Justin Baldoni's team in response to its alleged "demands" to access Lively and Taylor Swift's private communications.
According to documents obtained by People, Baldoni's team has "pursued [these communications] at the same time they have refused to produce to Ms. Lively the documents they publicly claimed to have received as part of a deal to withdraw their subpoenas to Ms. Swift and her counsel."
The document, filed by Lively's lawyer, Esra Hudson, said, "Good cause exists for this request because it has been a tactic" of Baldoni's "to make Ms. Swift and her fan base central to their media strategy against Ms. Lively."
A rep for Baldoni did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
A spokesperson for Lively told Fox News Digital, "Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties are still demanding access to Taylor Swift's private communications despite having already subpoenaed and then withdrawn that subpoena after they 'got all they needed.'
"As reflected in today's filing, their intent to drag Taylor Swift into this was evident as far back as August 2024, when the crisis PR firm led by Melissa Nathan included her in their 'Scenario Planning' document … and flagged the 'TS fanbase' as something to take 'extremely seriously," the statement continued.
"The ongoing attempts to once again try and use the world's biggest star as a PR tactic in this matter reflects a public unraveling of epic proportions and serves only to distract from the fact that Justin Baldoni's lawsuits against Ms. Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist and the New York Times have been entirely dismissed."
Swift was subpoenaed as a witness in the Lively-Baldoni dispute, but Baldoni's team has withdrawn the request, Fox News Digital confirmed in May.
A source with direct knowledge of the case told Fox News Digita at the time, "When information is voluntarily received, there is no need for subpoenas."
"The ongoing attempts to once again try and use the world's biggest star as a PR tactic in this matter reflects a public unraveling of epic proportions."
Representatives for Lively expressed approval of the reversal at the time, saying they will continue to "stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process."
"We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm," Lively's team said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We supported the efforts of Taylor's team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas directed to her counsel, and we will continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process.
"The Baldoni and Wayfarer team have tried to put Taylor Swift, a woman who has been an inspiration for tens of millions across the globe, at the center of this case since day one.
"Exploiting Taylor Swift's celebrity was the original plan in Melissa Nathan's scenario planning document, and it continues to this day," the statement added. "Faced with having to justify themselves in federal court, they folded. At some point, they will run out of distractions from the actual claims of sexual harassment and retaliation they are facing."
After Swift was subpoenaed May 10, a spokesperson for the pop star denied her involvement in the 2024 film "It Ends With Us" aside from the licensing of her song "My Tears Ricochet," which was featured in the movie's trailer and used in one scene.
"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," Swift's representative told Fox News Digital at the time.
"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."
Baldoni and Lively's legal fight is scheduled to go to trial before a New York court in March 2026.
On Thursday, Swift was spotted with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, at the 2025 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida.