"I should sue them for defamation": Candace Owens blasts Blake Lively's subpoena, alleges actress' lawyer had this "strange" demand

Amid Blake Lively's ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni, the actress's attorneys issued a subpoena to commentator and podcaster Candace Owens. According to a July 2 report by People, Lively’s legal team had also subpoenaed podcasters Perez Hilton and Andy Signore, seeking to determine whether these content creators had any connection to an alleged smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni against her.

Candace Owens subsequently criticized the subpoena and questioned the very basis of it in the August 7 episode of her podcast. On her eponymous podcast, Owens claimed that Blake Lively’s legal team was seeking to determine whether someone had provided her with “talking points” or had “paid” her to say “certain things” on her podcast. Dismissing the claims as “nonsense,” Owens took offense and said:

"In fact, I should sue them for defamation for even suggesting that I would let somebody put words in my mouth. It's bad for my brand. You hurt me now. That feels like an untraceable campaign, Blake Lively."

Candace Owens also stated that the lawsuit was filed in late 2024, but she did not begin reporting on the matter “until the end of January 2025.” She added that she did not “even know” Justin Baldoni’s name last year. Questioning the timeline, she described the demand made by Lively’s lawyer as “very strange.”

"But remarkably, what they specifically wanted, which is very strange, was they extended the time and they wanted to see whether or not we had communications this year, 2025. Why? Why is the judge allowing them to go on this fishing expedition to pretend that anything that happened this year is relevant to the case that she filed last year?" Owens said.

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Candace Owens says Blake Lively’s lawyers tried to stall filing to quash the subpoena

Candace Owens commenting on subpoena notice served to her by Blake Lively's lawyers (Image via YouTube/Candace Owens)

In her podcast, Candace Owens stated that her lawyer refused to share her "communication" with Blake Lively's team and planned to file a motion to quash the subpoena, citing "reporters' privilege."

Candace Owens also mentioned that her lawyer and Blake Lively's legal team then had a "friendly conversation." During this, Lively's team allegedly requested to hold off on filing the motion to quash subpoenas, as they were still exploring whether they could obtain the information directly by subpoenaing the defendants themselves.

"They asked us not to file the quash until they could see they filed some motion, whether or not they could win on forcing the defendants of this case, Bryan Freedman and co, Justin Baldoni to have to give their communication so that it won't actually involve me at all.... Yeah, that would kind of be the big idea. It's between all of you guys," Candace Owens said.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Owens also lashed out at the media, specifically calling out a The New York Times article that made serious allegations against Justin Baldoni. Taking a jibe at the outlet, Owens said:

"A couple goes to The New York Times, amongst their powerful elite friends and says, 'Hey, I just kind of want the publishing from this guy Justin Baldoni.' And so we're just going to make up this narrative, and do you mind writing this article.... And the New York Times said, 'Yeah, sure. That's not a problem.'"

She went on to label the "mainstream press" as "journalistic assassins." Owens also called the press a part of the "elite," asserting that there is "no such thing" as the "fourth estate."

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Justin Baldoni filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. However, on June 9, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed that case, along with a separate $400 million defamation lawsuit filed against Blake Lively.