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Fox News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Blake Lively seeks protective order against Justin Baldoni's team over Taylor Swift communications
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parties are still demanding access to Taylor Swift's private communications despite having already subpoenaed and then withdrawn that subpoena after they 'got all they needed.'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 Swift was subpoenaed as a witness in the Lively-Baldoni dispute, but Baldoni's team has withdrawn the request, Fox News Digital confirmed in May.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.
CNN
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Blake Lively will take the witness stand to testify during trial with Justin Baldoni, her lawyer says
In the latest development in the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, Lively's lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb have confirmed that the actress intends to take the stand when the case heads to trial next year. 'This is a case about what happened to Blake Lively when she raised claims of sexual harassment on set and the retaliation that followed. Of course she will testify,' Hudson and Gottlieb said in a statement to CNN on Thursday. Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights Department in December, preceding a lawsuit that followed about a week later. She also claimed that Baldoni, along with his PR representatives, orchestrated a 'social manipulation campaign' to hurt her reputation in the media while they were promoting 'It Ends with Us,' their 2024 film at the center of the dispute. First reported by People, Gottlieb said on Thursday that Lively plans to testify because 'the ultimate moment for a plaintiff's story to be told is at trial.' 'We expect that to be the case here (with Lively),' he added. 'So we would, of course, expect her to be a witness at her trial.' When reached for comment on Thursday, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman said, 'Although obviously uncomfortable for the Lively parties, the truth is not a distraction. The truth has been clearly shown through unedited receipts, documents and real life footage.' In an amended complaint filed in February, Lively alleged other women also raised claims about Baldoni's behavior on set. Freedman previously denied the allegations in a statement to CNN, saying, 'These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.' Gottlieb stopped short of confirming whether Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds will testify at trial, saying that it's his belief that Baldoni's allegations against Reynolds are 'frivolous.' Along with Lively, Reynolds is named as a defendant in the $400 million defamation lawsuit Baldoni filed in January. Baldoni has accused Reynolds of assisting Lively in 'hijacking' his film and taking down his career. He claimed that Reynolds, who had no formal role on 'It Ends With Us,' re-wrote a scene and made 'unauthorized changes to the script in secret.' Baldoni also accused Reynolds of reprimanding him at the couple's home in New York and alleged Reynolds made fun of him in 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' mirroring the character Nicepool after Baldoni in an effort to mock him. In March, Gottlieb filed a request for Reynolds to be dropped as a defendant from Baldoni's suit, claiming that his argument against Reynolds has no legal bounds and amounts to 'hurt feelings.' If Reynolds is dropped as a defendant, then he 'may or may not be a fact witness' at trial, Gottlieb added. There are other individuals who will be testifying at trial to support Lively's claims, said Gottlieb, adding that these individuals 'were witnesses to or experienced misconduct that is relevant to Ms. Lively's claims' and that he expects these witnesses to testify about 'what took place on set.' Baldoni also accused Lively in his defamation suit of working to 'destroy' him professionally by collaborating with the New York Times on an article about the complaint she filed with the California Civil Rights Department in December. Baldoni, who directed and starred alongside Lively in 'It Ends with Us,' also filed a libel suit against the New York Times in January, in which he claimed that the newspaper published an article 'rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions.' A spokesperson for The New York Times told CNN at the time that the publication plans to 'vigorously defend against the lawsuit.' Both Baldoni and Lively's attorneys have previously said that they do not intend to settle. The trial is currently set for March 2026. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to this report.
