Blake Lively breaks cover with new-look squad after explosive claims she threatened to leak Taylor Swift texts
Blake Lively appears to have revamped her squad in the wake of her friendship with Taylor Swift imploding, and she's bringing in one of her longtime celebrity pals.
The 37-year-old Gossip Girl star was spotted out on her way to dinner on Tuesday evening in New York City with Salma Hayek at her side.
The 58-year-old Frida star has been a longtime fan and admirer of Blake's going back to when they appeared together onscreen in Savages (2012).
The A-lister's resurfaced friendship comes as a source exclusively tells DailyMail.com that Blake's once-inseparable friend 'is done' with her after feeling she had been 'exploited.'
Blake's outing with her squad 2.0 marks the first time she has been seen in public since DailyMail.com exclusively reported that she allegedly threatened to leak embarrassing private text messages from her former bestie Taylor unless the pop star agreed to publicly back her in her feud with Justin.
The explosive revelation appeared in a legal letter filed Wednesday by Baldoni's lawyers, in response to Lively's request to quash their subpoena to the singer.
The court filing alleges that the Gossip Girl alum had tried to pressure Swift to issue a public statement in support of her and urged her to delete text messages between them during her escalating legal battle with Baldoni, 41.
This week's outing appears to be the first time Blake and Salma have been pictured together in public in years.
Also joining Blake's squad was her older half-sister Robyn Lively — an actress in her own right — who has been a steady source of support amid her legal drama.
And despite reconstituting her squad, it wasn't just a girls' night out, as Blake's husband Ryan Reynolds was also joining the ladies for dinner.
Blake showed off a casual-cool look with a tasteful dark-gray Prince of Wales check sport coat.
The jacket hung loosely on her, and she rolled up her overly long sleeves slightly to reveal the satin lining.
The Simple Favor star wore an intriguing brown-and-white shirt jacket with a rectangular grid design underneath, and she left it open to reveal a ribbed cream-colored tank top below it.
Blake tucked the figure-hugging shirt into her black leather pants, which had a relaxed fit and legs that billowed as she strutted under an overhang.
But this week's outing appears to be the first time they've been pictured together in public in years, though they've shared social media photos of their evenings together previously
She completed her ensemble with pointy brown leather boots and a slim but boxy Louis Vuitton handbag.
Salma contrasted her with a folksy look featuring a dark-blue denim skirt and matching blouse, both of which featured thick buttons running up the front.
The age-defying beauty — who recently made a splash on the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue — wore a slim brown leather belt around her midriff to emphasize her trim figure.
Her belt matched her round-toed brown leather boots, which also complemented Blake's boots.
Salma lightened up the dark ensemble with a white satin patterned scarf tied around her throat and fanned out dramatically over her chest.
She wore her lustrous raven locks down to frame her thick black nerd-chic glasses.
Robyn's style hewed close to Salma's denim outfit, as she wore high-waisted blue jeans, though in a lighter wash.
She tucked in a white tank top with a shallow V-neck and wore an unbuttoned denim western shirt in the same shade over it.
The Twin Peaks actress completed her look with a cozy gray cardigan and playful white high-top sneakers.
Blake's husband didn't stay in lockstep with the women but wasn't far from them.
The Deadpool & Wolverine star looked cool and relaxed with a black button-up shirt and a slim charcoal zip-up jacket.
Although Blake and Salma tend to keep a low public profile, their friendship extends back to the early 2010s, when they starred in Oliver Stone's thriller Savages (2012).
The ensemble piece, which also stars John Travolta, Benicio del Toro, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Taylor Kitsch, featured Salma as a Mexican drug cartel boss who kidnaps Blake's character, the girlfriend of Americans trying to run their own drug operation.
It didn't hurt that Salma also had a friendship with Blake's husband after starring with him in The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017), as well as its 2021 sequel.
The same year that the first film was released, Salma shared a humorous Instagram post showing herself stirring a pot while holding one of Blake and Ryan's children in her other arm.
'When your friends invite you for dinner and you end up doing all the work,' she joked in her caption.
A year earlier, she posted on Instagram about a night out with Blake and her sister Robyn in which they had the unorthodox sweet treat of 'chocolate marshmallow pizza.'
Salma has also praised Blake for public speaking out about the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes.
Blake turned toward other friends and family as a source tells DailyMail.com exclusively that Taylor is 'done' with their friendship after feeling she was 'exploited' by her former friend.
Last week, a representative for the pop superstar shared a blistering response to DailyMail.com after she was subpoenaed as a witness in Blake and Justin Baldoni's legal battle.
'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,' they said.
The latest twist that Blake allegedly threatened to leak Taylor's text messages sheds further light on the collapse of their once-close friendship, which has gone cold amid the actress's high-stakes lawsuit involving the actor.
Since then, both Swift and Lively have been subpoenaed for communications about the case, despite the superstar's attempts to distance herself from the furor.
In the letter to the judge obtained by DailyMail.com, Baldoni's legal team, led by Bryan Freedman, hit back at Lively's 'wrong' claims that the proposed subpoena to Swift 'seeks irrelevant documents.'
Freedman argued that it aims to obtain information 'relating to witness tampering and evidence spoliation,' specifically that Lively had attempted 'coerce' Swift into publicly siding with her.
According to the letter, Baldoni's attorneys received information that '(i) Ms. Lively requested that Taylor Swift delete their text messages' - which, according to inside sources, may have contained details from over a decade of friendship, relationships, and private confidences.
It also claims Lively's lawyer Michael Gottlieb had contacted Swift's attorney and demanded 'that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively's possession would be released.'
In response, Swift's reps purportedly addressed Lively's 'inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication' sent to Gottlieb, according to Freedman.
'It is those communications that [Baldoni's team] seeks to obtain by way of subpoena, as they would evidence an attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation', the letter states.
Swift, whose hit song 'My Tears Ricochet' was featured on the soundtrack of the 2024 film It Ends With Us, was pulled into the rollercoaster saga earlier this year when Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation.
Explosives text messages from Baldoni's complaint revealed Lively had referred to the superstar singer and her husband, as 'my dragons' in a bid to intimidate him over ill-fated flick It Ends With Us.
Since then, Swift has reportedly been trying to distance herself from the scandal as well as her friendship with Lively.
Those efforts have included icing Lively out of her inner circle while boyfriend Travis Kelce has unfollowed Reynolds on Instagram.
The new revelation marks yet another bombshell twist in a case that has dragged in multiple A-listers and resulted in some legal zingers – among them Lively's dragon claim.
The mom-of-four has also been accused of failing to read the novel on which the movie is based until well after filming started and forcing Baldoni and his family to sit in the basement during the premiere due to her refusal to be in the same room as him.
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EXCLUSIVE
Blake Lively 'threatened' to leak Taylor Swift's texts unless she sided with her in Baldoni feud
On top of that, some of her allegations have begun to look dubious such as the claim that Baldoni had nuzzled her neck and told her 'you smell so good' during a dancing scene.
Although the mom-of-four claimed it had been filmed with microphones off, DailyMail.com obtained raw footage that showed the sound was on and that the conversation had instead been about the scent of Lively's fake tan.
Attention has now turned to who else could be subpoenaed in the case, with Reynolds odds-on to have his communications scrutinized by Baldoni's team.
Last week, speculation arose around Swift and Reynolds' friend Hugh Jackman with reports saying that they too are facing a legal grilling.
Swift is reportedly furious over being dragged into the case and has not been photographed with Lively for months.
Blake Lively allegedly threatened bestie Taylor Swift with the release of embarrassing text messages if she failed to release a public statement in support of her, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal
Lively allegedly demanded Swift, whose hit song is featured on the soundtrack of It Ends With Us, to publicly side with her in her ongoing feud with costar Justin Baldoni, according to a legal letter
The bombshell revelation sheds further light on the collapse of Lively and Swift's friendship - which has gone cold amid the actress's ongoing legal battle with Baldoni
Last week, her boyfriend Travis Kelce unfollowed Reynolds – who is currently celebrating his soccer team Wrexham's promotion to the English Football League Championship – in yet another sign that relations between the two couples have cooled.
Although Kelce is unlikely to be slapped with a subpoena, one person who has already got one is publicist Stephanie Jones who is also being sued by Baldoni after she allegedly turned over a phone belonging to his publicist and her former employee, Jennifer Abel.
The messages on the phone between Abel and crisis PR Melissa Nathan were later used as the basis for Lively's claims of a smear campaign, although Baldoni's team hit back saying the texts were selectively edited and released the conversations in full.
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Jones denied handing over the texts as a favor, arguing in court papers that she turned the device over only after receiving a subpoena last October.
But her claims led to fresh embarrassment for Lively after DailyMail.com revealed the subpoena had arisen from a 'sham' lawsuit filed by her company Vanzan against anonymous Does 1–10, which was dropped before the her sexual harassment case was filed.
The revelation prompted a furious response from Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman who described the Vanzan suit as a 'sham.'
'Ms. Lively's and Mr. Reynolds' company Vanzan had nothing to do with this case and they knew it,' Freedman said in a statement.
'This sham lawsuit was designed to obtain subpoena power without oversight or scrutiny, and in doing so denied my clients the ability to contest the propriety, nature, and scope of the subpoena.
Lively and Swift's friendship soured after the popstar got dragged into the actress's lawsuit against Baldoni, her costar and director in the It Ends With Us movie adaptation of the popular Colleen Hoover novel
Last week, DailyMail.com learned that Swift was left devastated when she was subpoenaed as a witness. Until this year, the two were close friends, with Swift being the godmother to Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's three eldest children
Swift - pictured with Blake in January 2024 - was dragged into the mix earlier this year, when Baldoni filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation
'There is nothing normal about this. Officers of the court have a duty of candor to the court and an obligation not to file fictitious lawsuits that have no basis in fact or law.
'This was done in bad faith and constitutes a flagrant abuse of process.'
Last week, DailyMail.com revealed that the superstar singer was left devastated when she was subpoenaed as a witness in the case.
Read More
Scarlett Johansson breaks silence on ex Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's lawsuit
Despite putting on a brave face in Philadelphia this weekend — reportedly joining her boyfriend Travis Kelce and their respective moms for a Mother's Day lunch — it is understood that Swift has been 'completely floored' by the legal escalation and is now 'very upset.'
And not least because she feels betrayed and 'exploited' by her longtime friend, Lively.
Up until this year, Swift counted Lively among her closest confidantes.
They live just a stone's throw away from each other in New York's trendy Tribeca neighborhood, and Swift is godmother to Lively's three daughters.
But things soured in December when Lively sued Baldoni, her costar and director in the It Ends With Us movie adaptation of the popular Colleen Hoover novel.
In her December complaint, Lively claimed he had acted unprofessionally on the set of the domestic abuse movie It Ends With Us in which the pair starred and Baldoni also directed
The film at the heart of the feud, based on the 2016 bestseller by Colleen Hoover, was released in August and was a box office hit
The following month, when Baldoni filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation, Swift was dragged into the mix.
Contained in Baldoni's filing were screenshots of text messages and emails that named Swift.
One particularly uncomfortable exchange allegedly shows Lively referring to herself as Khaleesi — a character in Game Of Thrones — and to Swift as one of her 'dragons.'
Baldoni also claimed that Swift was present at a pivotal meeting about the movie, held by Lively and Reynolds at their New York penthouse.
For her part, a source close to Swift has said she simply arrived to find the meeting underway and had no involvement.
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