The internet was set ablaze yesterday with allegations that Blake Lively's team tried to pressure Taylor Swift into sharing a statement of support by leaking text messages. Less than 24 hours later, a federal Judge put a stop to the drama, striking Justin Baloni's letter and affidavit.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman granted Lively's request to strike a letter from Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, that accused Lively’s legal team of trying to extort Swift.
He blasted it as "improper" and "irrelevant" and warned Baldoni’s legal team about any attempts to “promote scandal arising out of unproven potentially libelous statements.” The judge also offered a warning: “Counsel is advised that future misuse of the Court’s docket may be met with sanctions."
Baldoni's team had doubled down on the claims, filing a signed affidavit under the penalty of perjury claiming to have had an hour-long phone call on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, with a "person very closely linked to Taylor Swift."
In the affidavit he claimed the source said Lively's lawyer allegedly "requested, on Ms. Lively's behalf, that Taylor Swift make a social media statement in support of Ms. Lively given her absence from the Super Bowl that year, and stated that if Ms. Swift failed to do so, Ms. Lively would release '10 years' of private texts with Ms. Swift," per PEOPLE. His affidavit was also thrown out.
Lively's rep said in a statement, "It took the court less than 24 hours to see through Mr. Freedman’s irrelevant, improper and inflammatory accusations, strike them, remove them from the court and warn Mr. Freedman that further misconduct may be met with sanctions," per PEOPLE.
The drama isn't over for Taylor Swift
Unfortunately for Swift, this doesn't put an end to the drama. The singer has still been subpoenaed in the case and is expected to testify as a witness at the 2026 March trial. Lively will also testify. After news broke that Swift was subpoenaed, Swift's team said in a statement to PEOPLE, “Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie. She was not involved in any casting or creative decisions. She didn’t score the film. She didn’t even see it until weeks after it premiered.”
Amid all the drama, people can't help but wonder where Lively and Swift's friendship stands. She was not at the Super Bowl, and Swift's boyfriend reportedly unfollowed Ryan Reynolds on Instagram. There were also reports that Swift was less than happy about being called one of Lively's dragons and the fact that she became a part of the drama.