Blake Lively’s lead attorney, Mike Gottlieb, allegedly threatened to release Taylor Swift’s private text messages if the singer didn’t publicly support Lively in her legal battle over It Ends With Us.
Justin Baldoni’s legal team revealed the shocking allegations in a bombshell new court filing obtained by The Post; however, Gottlieb denied the claims, calling them “categorically false.”
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively at Super Bowl LVIII. (Getty Images)
Last week, Swift became entangled in the dispute between Lively and Baldoni when the superstar was dragged into the legal war.
In a letter to the judge on Wednesday, Baldoni’s attorneys explained why they wanted to speak with Swift — particularly after Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, attempted to quash the subpoena.
“Defendant Lively’s insistence that the subpoena seeks irrelevant information is wrong,” wrote Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, in the latest legal document.
Freedman also claimed he had received information from an anonymous source who alleged that Lively “asked Taylor Swift to delete their text messages,” according to the filing.
Freedman argued that the source likely “has credible information” which, in his opinion, could be helpful in the case.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. (Christopher Peterson / SplashNews.com)
Taylor Swift at a Kansas City Chiefs game. (Getty Images)
Taylor Swift is the godmother of the three daughters of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. (GC Images)
In the legal letter, Freedman further alleged that Lively’s lawyer had contacted a lawyer at Venable — the firm representing the “Bad Blood” singer — and “demanded that Ms. Swift issue a public statement in support of Ms. Lively,” while also “implying that if Ms. Swift refused, private, personal text messages in their possession would be released.”
According to Freedman, the filing states that one of Swift’s representatives “addressed these inappropriate and seemingly extortionate threats” in at least one written communication with Gottlieb.
“It is these communications that the Wayfarer Parties seek to obtain,” the letter stated, adding that the alleged correspondence could be potential evidence of “an attempt to intimidate and coerce a material witness in this litigation.”
Lively’s lawyer denies the allegations. (Getty Images)
However, Lively’s attorney denied Freedman’s accusations in a statement to The Post:
“This is categorically false. We strongly deny all of these alleged claims, which cowardly rely on supposed anonymous sources and are completely disconnected from reality,” Gottlieb said.
“This is exactly what we expected from the Wayfarer Parties’ attorneys, who seem to enjoy shooting first — with no evidence and no concern for the people they harm in the process. We will immediately file motions in court to hold these attorneys accountable for their misconduct.”
Blake Lively allegedly called Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds “my dragons” in a text to Justin Baldoni. (GC Images)
Blake Lively sued her It Ends With Us co-star for alleged sexual harassment. (GC Images)
Lively’s legal team filed a motion to strike Freedman’s letter on Wednesday afternoon, claiming its sole purpose was “to spread scandalous and defamatory allegations about Ms. Lively and her legal defense through the press.”
“That letter, which was not filed with any evidentiary support — let alone under oath — falsely accuses Ms. Lively and her defense of engaging in ‘witness tampering and destruction of evidence’ based on an undisclosed anonymous source,” declared Esra A. Hudson, the actress’s lawyer, in the motion obtained by The Post.
“It should be unnecessary to respond to anonymous, baseless, and recklessly made accusations unsupported by any proof. Nevertheless, let the record reflect that each and every allegation in Freedman’s letter is unequivocally and demonstrably false,” the filing stated.
Lively’s attorneys quickly filed a motion to strike the letter. (©Sony Pictures/Courtesy of Everett Collection)
“It seeks no relief, is irrelevant to any motion currently pending before the Court, and serves no legitimate purpose. It is not helpful to the Court in any way.”
The Post reached out to representatives for Freedman and Swift for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
Swift, godmother to Lively and Reynolds’ three daughters, was referenced several times in Baldoni’s countersuit, in which he claimed the international pop star and Reynolds facilitated a meeting between him and Lively at the couple’s penthouse in New York.
In his countersuit, Baldoni also alleged that Lively referred to herself as “Khaleesi” from Game of Thrones and called Reynolds and Swift “my dragons” in a supposed text exchange.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively on the set of It Ends With Us. (Christopher Peterson / SplashNews)
