In a dramatic turn of events, just a week after Justin Baldoni‘s legal team unveiled a website showcasing alleged “receipts” from the It Ends with Us set, Blake Lively‘s team has launched an aggressive legal strategy, issuing subpoenas to major telecommunications companies including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, AOL, Cloudflare, Inc., and PR crisis expert Jed Wallace.
In a statement to Variety, Lively’s attorneys Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb declared, “Ms. Lively has initiated discovery that will expose the people, tactics, and methods that have worked to ‘destroy’ and ‘bury’ her reputation and family over the past year. Subpoenas went out to the entities… We will now receive all of the ‘receipts’ that, unsurprisingly, are nowhere to be found on Mr. Freedman’s website, and like Ms. Lively, those ‘receipts’ will have their day in court.”
The legal team representing Lively is seeking to examine phone records belonging to Baldoni, This Ends with Us producer Jamey Heath, and Wayfarer Studios’ billionaire co-founder Steve Sarowitz.
Speaking to Variety, Blake’s representative stated, “Phone records belonging to all of the individual defendants will expose the full web of individuals who were involved in the smear campaign against Ms. Lively. Such records will provide critical and irrefutable evidence not only about who, but also about when, where, and how their retaliation plan came together and operated.”
While Baldoni’s team remains silent on the subpoenas, Wallace has countered by filing a defamation lawsuit against Lively.
Wallace’s attorney Chip Babcock informed TMZ, “Blake Lively made false statements to the press through a private administrative filing, claiming Mr. Wallace and Street Relations had sexually harassed her, retaliated against her, aided and abetted others who did the same, breached a contract with her and engaged in other improper conduct. Mr. Wallace, who is a very private person, has never met or spoken to Ms. Lively. Ever. He has not engaged in a smear campaign against her at any point in time. The decision to file this lawsuit to rightfully protect himself and his family was made after Ms. Lively not only filed against him first in Texas but indicated she intended to name him in yet another lawsuit.”
The legal battle intensified after Lively’s December accusations of sexual harassment against Baldoni and her naming of Wallace in the smear campaign complaint. Baldoni responded with a massive $400-million defamation lawsuit.
Currently, the courts are treating Lively and Baldoni’s lawsuits as a single case.
Judge Lewis J. Liman recently stepped in, urging both parties to maintain decorum and adhere to New York Rules of Professional Conduct to prevent jury pool contamination.
While the trial isn’t scheduled until March 2026, Judge Liman has warned that continued hostilities between the parties could result in an expedited trial date.
Neither Lively, Reynolds, nor Baldoni attended the court proceedings, which took place following a motion requesting a gag order against Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freeman.
Earlier, Lively’s legal representatives had requested an urgent hearing to “address the appropriate conduct,” citing “imminent harm caused by Mr. Freedman’s misleading and selective statements and leaks.”
Despite the motion filed by Lively’s team, the court did not implement an official gag order.
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