A high-profile legal battle surrounding the production of the film It Ends With Us has taken a dramatic turn, as actor-director Justin Baldoni’s lawyer accuses Blake Lively’s legal team of pressuring pop superstar Taylor Swift to publicly support Lively—an accusation Swift’s representatives and Lively’s counsel have strongly denied. The case, already laden with explosive claims, now includes a layer involving alleged intimidation and witness tampering, sparking widespread public and legal scrutiny.
Baldoni’s Attorney Claims Threat of “Private Messages” Involving Swift
On May 14, 2025, Bryan Freedman, the high-powered attorney representing Justin Baldoni, submitted a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman in a U.S. District Court. In that letter, Freedman accused Blake Lively’s legal team of attempting to “coerce” Taylor Swift into issuing a public statement supporting Lively. The letter alleged that Michael Gottlieb—one of Lively’s attorneys from the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP—contacted Swift’s representatives at Venable LLP and made an unsettling suggestion.
According to Freedman, Gottlieb implied that if Swift declined to issue the statement, private and sensitive text messages involving her and Blake Lively would be released to the public. The allegation, as stated in the letter, was based solely on a single, unnamed source described only as “highly likely to have reliable information.” No other documentation, evidence, or sworn testimony accompanied the accusation.
Freedman went as far as to describe this alleged conduct as “witness tampering” and “evidence spoliation”—both serious charges if proven true. However, Freedman’s letter has raised eyebrows for its lack of substantiation and heavy reliance on an anonymous source.
Lively’s Legal Team Fires Back: “Categorically False” and “Cowardly”
Within hours of Freedman’s letter being filed, Blake Lively’s legal team issued a strong rebuttal. Michael Gottlieb, the same attorney accused in Freedman’s letter, called the claims “categorically false” and “cowardly,” noting that they were “sourced to supposed anonymous individuals” and “completely untethered from reality.”
In a public statement issued to media outlets including Variety, Gottlieb criticized Freedman and his co-counsel for making sensational accusations without evidence. “This is what we have come to expect from the Wayfarer parties’ lawyers,” Gottlieb said, referring to the production company associated with Baldoni. “They appear to love nothing more than shooting first, without any evidence, and with no care for the people they are harming in the process.”
Gottlieb added that he and his team were preparing motions to file with the court to hold Freedman and his legal colleagues “accountable for their misconduct here.” The response reflects the increasingly combative tone of the legal battle between the parties.
Lively’s Team Urges Court to Strike Freedman’s Letter From the Record
In a parallel move, another member of Lively’s legal team, attorney Esra Hudson, submitted a formal letter to Judge Liman asking that Freedman’s court filing be removed entirely from the legal record. Hudson argued that the letter falsely accuses both Blake Lively and her legal counsel of serious misconduct without presenting any evidence or sworn declaration.
“That letter, which was not filed with any evidentiary support of any kind, much less anything under oath, falsely accuses Ms. Lively, and her counsel, of engaging in ‘witness tampering and evidence spoliation,’” wrote Hudson. “It should be unnecessary to respond to anonymously sourced, baseless allegations recklessly leveled without any supporting evidence.”
Hudson emphasized that the Freedman letter is improper and irrelevant to any legal motion currently pending before the court. “It does not seek any form of relief, is irrelevant to any motion currently pending before the Court, and serves no legitimate purpose,” the letter stated. “It is not useful to the Court in any respect.”
How Taylor Swift Became Involved in the Legal Dispute
While Taylor Swift is not a party to the lawsuit, her name was dragged into the dispute due to her friendship with Blake Lively and a subpoena issued by Justin Baldoni’s legal team. On May 9, Swift’s representatives at Venable LLP were served with a subpoena requesting documents related to Swift’s alleged involvement in the production of It Ends With Us.
Freedman’s team justified the subpoena by referencing texts between Lively and Baldoni, in which Lively allegedly referred to Swift as “one of her dragons”—a term believed to imply that Swift was part of Lively’s support system. This prompted Baldoni’s legal team to seek communications between Lively and Swift, claiming they could be relevant to Lively’s alleged intent to defame Baldoni.
Swift’s legal team filed a motion to quash the subpoena, calling it an abuse of the court’s process. They argue that the document request is irrelevant and only serves to generate tabloid speculation and media noise around an already high-profile case.
Background: What Is the Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni Lawsuit?
The legal conflict stems from the production of It Ends With Us, a film adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel of the same name. The movie was produced by Wayfarer Studios, co-founded by Justin Baldoni, with Blake Lively cast in the lead role. However, the working relationship between Lively and Baldoni deteriorated significantly.
In late 2024, Lively reportedly filed legal claims accusing Baldoni of misconduct, including harassment and retaliation during the film’s production. This led to Baldoni filing a $400 million defamation countersuit in January 2025. The countersuit also names Ryan Reynolds—Lively’s husband—and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging that the trio coordinated efforts to damage Baldoni’s professional standing.
The suit claims that private messages were selectively leaked to the media and that Lively’s team fabricated or exaggerated allegations to tarnish Baldoni’s reputation. Baldoni’s side argues that these actions were aimed at ousting him from the industry and destroying his credibility.
What Happens Next?
With the court filings growing more contentious, legal experts suggest that Judge Liman will soon decide whether to strike Freedman’s controversial letter from the record. In the meantime, motions are being reviewed related to the subpoena against Taylor Swift, and the judge may also weigh in on whether the singer’s involvement is necessary or peripheral.
The legal proceedings are expected to intensify in the coming months. Both parties are preparing for a formal trial, currently scheduled for March 2026, where both Lively and Baldoni will be expected to testify under oath.
