Blake Lively has been accused of threatening to leak private text messages from pop icon Taylor Swift unless Swift publicly backed her in a lawsuit against filmmaker Justin Baldoni. The allegation, lodged by Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman in a court filing dated May 14, 2025, has ignited a firestorm of controversy, though Lively’s legal team has dismissed the claims as entirely unfounded.
The dispute traces back to the production of the film It Ends With Us, where Lively and Baldoni collaborated. In December 2024, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation during the filmmaking process. Baldoni retaliated with a $400 million countersuit in early 2025, accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion. The case is slated for trial on March 9, 2026, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown.
Freedman’s filing claims that Lively pressured Swift to delete their text messages and demanded a public statement of support for her legal fight. According to Freedman, an anonymous source—described as “highly likely to have reliable information”—revealed that Lively’s attorney, Michael Gottlieb, contacted Swift’s legal team to enforce this demand, threatening to release the texts if Swift declined. Freedman labeled these alleged actions as “extortionate threats,” arguing they fit into a pattern of coercion by Lively.
This claim is tied to Baldoni’s broader legal strategy, including a subpoena issued to Venable, Swift’s law firm, to access communications that might substantiate allegations of witness tampering and evidence spoliation. Legal documents reported by TMZ indicate that Freedman views these exchanges as critical to Baldoni’s defense.
Lively’s camp has forcefully refuted the accusations. On May 14, 2025, Gottlieb issued a statement to People, declaring,
“This is categorically false. We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality.”
The denial positions the claims as a tactical ploy by Baldoni’s team, lacking any grounding in evidence.
Why Is Taylor Swift Even Involved? That’s the question Swift’s fans are all asking—and the answer isn’t so simple.
Swift, who is the godmother to Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ children, was reportedly present during a pivotal meeting between Baldoni and Lively. This meeting took place at Lively’s New York penthouse and allegedly shaped key decisions related to the It Ends With Us film project.
Baldoni claims that Lively referred to Swift and Reynolds as “my dragons” in text messages—an apparent nod to Game of Thrones, where she dubbed herself “Khaleesi.” These quirky text exchanges are now being examined for their potential relevance to the case, and it’s one more reason why Swift was subpoenaed as a witness.
However, Swift’s camp swiftly shut down any suggestion that the singer had any hand in the movie or its controversy.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on set, didn’t help cast anyone, didn’t write music for the movie, and didn’t even watch the film until it was publicly released,”
her representative stated. In fact, Swift was busy touring globally during the entire production period.
Swift’s spokesperson clarified this on May 10, 2025, emphasizing that she was never on set, had no role in production or creative decisions, and only saw the film weeks after its release. The statement also pointed out that 19 other artists licensed songs for the movie, suggesting the subpoena targeting Swift was more about generating headlines than gathering relevant evidence.
Lively and Swift have often celebrated each other’s creative work. Whether it’s Swift name-dropping Lively’s daughters in her lyrics or Lively supporting Swift’s projects publicly, their bond has been a source of inspiration for fans.
Sources say Swift was particularly interested in how It Ends With Us was shaping up—mainly because of how closely its emotional themes align with her own songwriting. Swift is known for turning personal pain into powerful lyrics, and some insiders believe she offered Lively feedback during the film’s early stages. Whether or not those discussions ended up in texts that are now central to this lawsuit, only the court will decide.
What’s clear is this: Swift’s name being pulled into this legal mess has more to do with personal connections and public perception than anything else.