Washington [US], May 15 (ANI): Blake Lively's legal team has unequivocally denied the claim made by Justin Baldoni's lawyer about the actress's friendship with Taylor Swift.

In a letter to the judge, Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni, explained why they believe their subpoena to Venable, the law firm representing Swift, is relevant in the case.

Freedman claimed that a 'source who is highly likely to have reliable information' alleged to them that there is evidence of Lively's lawyers pressuring Swift's lawyers to 'release a statement of support' for the actress amid the Baldoni legal saga. If they refused, according to Freedman's claim, Lively was willing to leak their text messages in what he called 'extortionate threats,' reported People.

There is currently no evidence to support the claims, but Freedman stated that their subpoena seeks these communications to utilise in their case against Lively.

However, Mike Gottlieb, an attorney for Lively, said in a May 14 statement, 'This is categorically false,' reported People.

'We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality,' added Gottlieb.

'This is what we have come to expect from the Wayfarer parties' lawyers, who appear to love nothing more than shooting first, without any evidence, and with no care for the people they are harming in the process,' he said. 'We will imminently file motions with the court to hold these attorneys accountable for their misconduct here.'

Lively sued her It Ends With Us co-star and director Baldoni in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. He denied those claims, filing a USD 400 million countersuit of his own, accusing Lively and Ryan Reynolds of defamation and extortion.

After it was revealed that Swift had been issued a subpoena in the ongoing legal battle, the singer's spokesperson made a statement distancing Swift from It Ends With Us and the legal drama.

'Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, 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,' said her rep, according to People.

'The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, 'My Tears Ricochet,' ' her rep continued. 'Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift's name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.'

Later, Lively's spokesperson spoke out about the subpoena in a statement, claiming Baldoni's legal team is turning the case into 'entertainment for the tabloids.'

'This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey's Circus. The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame and attack women's rights and reputations,' said Lively's spokesperson, reported People. (ANI)