Hollywood’s courtroom drama is escalating. Actor and producer Justin Baldoni has accused actress Blake Lively of attempting to blackmail Taylor Swift as part of their ongoing legal war over the film It Ends With Us.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, claimed in a court letter that Lively pressured Swift to delete private texts and issue a public statement of support — allegedly threatening to release 10 years’ worth of personal messages if Swift refused.
The accusation stems from a dispute that began after Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on set. Baldoni responded by suing her for libel and for hijacking the film’s release. The film, based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, was released last year and has since been surrounded by controversy.
After Swift was subpoenaed as a witness, Lively’s team attempted to have the subpoena dismissed. In response, Freedman filed a court letter accusing Lively of “witness tampering and evidence spoliation.” He claimed Lively’s lawyer contacted one of Swift’s attorneys and “demanded” a public show of support — or risk exposure of private texts.
Lively’s team responded quickly. Attorney Esra Hudson slammed Freedman’s claims as “baseless” and said they were aimed at “spreading scandalous allegations” to the media, not pursuing justice. She said the accusations were “demonstrably false” and accused Freedman of trying to use the press to damage Lively’s reputation.
The court agreed with Lively’s side. Judge Lewis Liman granted her motion to strike both Freedman’s letter and a follow-up affidavit, calling them “irrelevant” and meant to “promote public scandal.” He also warned Freedman that more misconduct could lead to sanctions.
A spokesperson for Lively said, “It took the court less than 24 hours to see through Mr. Freedman’s inflammatory accusations.”
Even Taylor Swift’s camp weighed in, accusing Baldoni’s team of using her name to generate “tabloid clickbait.” Freedman denied the claim and said his intention was purely to gather evidence.
The case continues to attract major media attention, especially with high-profile names like Swift caught in the crossfire. Whether or not she’ll be forced to testify remains unclear.
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