Justin Baldoni says Blake Lively blackmailed best friend Taylor Swift, threatened to release private messages

A shocking accusation has come up in the ongoing legal fight between actress Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni. Baldoni’s legal team claims that Lively threatened to publicly share private text messages between herself and Taylor Swift unless Swift made a public statement supporting Lively in her sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Baldoni.

This claim is part of a larger legal battle that includes a $400 million countersuit filed by Baldoni against Lively, where he accuses her of defamation and extortion. The accusation appeared in a letter to the judge, responding to objections from Lively and Ryan Reynolds about a subpoena sent to Taylor Swift’s law firm, Venable.

Baldoni’s lawyers say they received information from an anonymous but seemingly trustworthy source suggesting Lively tried to pressure Swift into supporting her. According to People, this alleged pressure included requests for Swift to delete text messages and a demand, passed through their lawyers, for a public statement. The implied threat was that the private messages would be made public if Swift refused. Allegedly, Swift’s lawyers retaliated and “addressed these inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats….” 

Blake Lively may have “threatened” Taylor Swift

Lively’s lawyer has strongly denied these claims, per Yahoo! News, calling them false and without evidence. They described the accusations as cowardly and disconnected from reality, further accusing Baldoni’s legal team of acting recklessly and ignoring the harm to those involved. They plan to take legal action against Baldoni’s lawyers for their behavior.

The legal conflict started with Lively’s original lawsuit in December 2024 against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios. She accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation during the making of It Ends With Us, a movie in which Lively starred and Baldoni directed. Baldoni denied the claims and filed his own countersuit in January 2025, naming Lively and others as defendants.

The subpoena sent to Swift caused her representative to release a statement stressing that Swift had very little involvement with the film, only licensing one song for the soundtrack. The representative said Swift was never on set, had no creative role, and only saw the movie weeks after its release, as she was on tour during production. They called the subpoena a publicity stunt meant to attract tabloid attention rather than focus on the facts of the case.

Besides Swift, other people have been mentioned as possible subjects of subpoenas, including Hugh Jackman. While one source said anyone with knowledge of the situation could be subpoenaed, regardless of fame, another source doubted Swift and Jackman would be seriously involved, suggesting it was a distraction tactic.

Lively has publicly thanked Swift for her support during filming, and previously released text messages showed Lively referring to Swift and Reynolds as her supportive “dragons.” We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.