In yet more proof that it won’t end (with us), Justin Baldoni’s lawyers have claimed that Blake Lively threatened to leak private messages with Taylor Swift if the singer didn’t publicly support her.
ICYMI, Swift was last week subpoenaed as a witness in the ongoing legal battle between Lively and Baldoni, which stems from the set of It Ends With Us and includes allegations of sexual harassment and defamation.
In a letter to the judge explaining why Swift’s subpoena was necessary, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, delivered a bombshell claim relating to the pop star’s friendship with Lively.
According to Freedman — who cited a “source who is highly likely to have reliable information” — Lively “demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support” for the actress during the height of the It Ends With Us drama.
Apparently, Lively threatened through her attorneys to share her texts with Swift if the singer didn’t issue a statement supporting her.
“If Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively’s possession would be released,” Freedman claimed.
Elsewhere in the letter, Freedman described Lively’s alleged Swift manoeuvre as an “extortionate threat”, but the actress’ own legal team quickly fired back.
“This is categorically false,” Lively’s lawyer, Mike Gottlieb, said in a statement to People.
“We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality.”
Gottlieb went on to say that Baldoni’s lawyers raised the allegation “without any evidence”, and vowed to “hold these attorneys accountable for their misconduct”.
As for Swift — who was roped into the drama when Baldoni’s team claimed she was used by Lively to assert creative control over It Ends With Us — well… the singer just wants to shake it off.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions,” a spokesperson said in response to the subpoena.
“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.”
The spokesperson added that Swift’s only involvement in It Ends With Us was permitting the use of her song “My Tears Ricochet” for the soundtrack.
Swift’s subpoena follows rumours last month that she and Hugh Jackman would be dragged into the legal mess given their friendships with Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
Flash-forward a few years and this will all form the basis of a TV dramatisation by Ryan Murphy, but in the meantime, it’s just a plain ol’ mess.
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