Blake Lively’s Rep Rips Justin Baldoni’s Team For Subpoenaing Taylor Swift
They likened the move to a “circus act” and slammed the film director’s legal team for suggesting that Lively’s deposition be turned into a ticketed event at Madison Square Garden.
Taylor Swift’s subpoena is tied to Justin Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit filed in January against Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
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Blake Lively’s Rep Accuses Justin Baldoni’s Team Of Attempting To Turn The Case Into A ‘Circus’
On Friday, it was confirmed that Baldoni’s team had issued a subpoena to Taylor Swift in his ongoing trial brought against him by her friend, Lively.
Now, a rep for the actress has come out to slam the move, while also criticizing Baldoni’s lawyer’s suggestion to sell tickets to the deposition and donate the proceeds to organizations supporting victims of domestic abuse.
“Mr. Baldoni, Mr. Sarowitz, and team continue to turn a case of sexual harassment and retaliation into entertainment for the tabloids, going as far as suggesting that they sell tickets to a concert venue – Madison Square Garden – to witness Ms. Lively’s deposition, to subpoenaing Taylor Swift, a woman who has given a voice to millions all over the world,” said the rep for Lively, per People Magazine.
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The rep also stated that the ongoing case is a “very serious legal matter,” not a “circus” that Baldoni’s legal team seems to be trying to turn it into.
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The Rep Accused The Film Director Of ‘Bullying,’ ‘Shaming,’ And ‘Intimidation’
The rep then switched to criticizing Baldoni and the other parties in the sexual harassment suit, who had previously opposed Lively’s motion to dismiss Baldoni’s defamation suit against his “It Ends With Us co-star.”
“The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame, and attack women’s rights and reputations. Including in the past month, seeking to strike down for all, a powerful California victims’ rights law, calling it ‘unconstitutional,'” the rep continued.
They further remarked, “The disturbing actions by a billionaire, men who made their careers as ‘female allies’ and their team, continue to show their true colors.”
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In their motion to dismiss Baldoni’s defamation suit, Lively’s legal team cited the Protecting Survivors from Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act, which was implemented in 2023 to shield harassment accusers from retaliatory defamation claims.
However, Baldoni’s attorneys pushed back, arguing that invoking the law would set a “dangerous precedent” and threaten the film director’s First Amendment right to challenge what they described as Lively’s “false and harmful” accusations, per Variety.
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Taylor Swift’s Rep Has Responded To The Subpoena
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Swift has responded to the subpoena issued to the pop star.
They told People Magazine that Swift never visited the film set for It Ends With Us, the movie in which Lively and Baldoni co-starred and where the alleged sexual harassment incident occurred.
The rep also stated that Swift had no involvement in any of the “casting or creative decisions,” which appears to refute Baldoni’s claim that he was summoned to Lively’s penthouse in New York, where her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and Swift allegedly praised Lively’s version of a scene from the movie.
“She did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history,” Swift’s rep further clarified about the pop star.
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When Is Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni’s Trial
At the moment, the sexual harassment trial is scheduled for March 9, 2026, with no cameras allowed during the proceedings.
When the trial begins, Baldoni is expected to take the stand as confirmed by his lawyer, Bryan Freedman.
Similarly, Lively will testify alongside other individuals her legal team believes witnessed or experienced the “misconduct that is relevant” to her claims.
“The ultimate moment for a plaintiff’s story to be told is at trial. We expect that to be the case here [with Lively]. So we would, of course, expect her to be a witness at her trial. Of course, she’s going to testify,” Lively’s attorney, Mike Gottlieb, told People Magazine.
Why Justin Baldoni’s Lawyer Wants To Sell Tickets For People To Watch Blake Lively’s Deposition
Lively’s rep’s remarks about Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman, making a “circus” of the ongoing case come after the lawyer told People Magazine that he wants to sell tickets to the “Gossip Girl” star’s deposition.
“Since Ms. Lively is open to testifying, let’s make it count,” Freedman told the news outlet.
He noted, “Hold the deposition at MSG, sell tickets or stream it, and donate every dollar to organizations helping victims of domestic abuse.”
