"They don't believe that we were paid by Baldoni"— Kjersti Flaa claims this is why Blake Lively's team subpoenaed 16 influencers via Google

Entertainment journalist Kjersti Flaa shared what she believed was the real reason behind Blake Lively’s legal team subpoenaing 16 influencers via Google. In her July 15, 2025, Flaawsome Talk with Kjersti Flaa podcast video, Flaa claimed that the legal move happened because Blake Lively or Ryan Reynolds may have personally instructed their lawyers to do so.

"I don’t believe that Blake Lively’s lawyers are this dumb. They don’t believe that we were paid by Baldoni. But they’re serving Blake Lively, and they’ll do anything her and Ryan Reynolds is telling them to do. It might be their idea," Flaa stated.

According to a Daily Mail report dated July 15, 2025, Blake Lively, in her ongoing legal battle against Justin Baldoni, had issued a subpoena to Google requesting detailed information about the accounts of YouTubers deemed as pro-Baldoni.

The report further revealed that at least 16 creators had received notices from Google in this regard, asking them to turn over their email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and payment details for their premium accounts and other sensitive information.

Commenting on this latest development, Flaa claimed in the aforementioned podcast episode that the idea for subpoenaing these 16 creators via Google may have originated from Nick Shapiro. Shapiro is Blake Lively’s crisis PR advisor and the CIA’s former deputy chief of staff, as per Variety.

She further claimed that the subpoenas were not merely an attempt to gather data but were also meant to intimidate content creators who had publicly discussed details related to Blake Lively’s legal battle in their YouTube videos.

"Remember that CIA chief of staff guy that they hired? Uh, this might be right up his alley… I do think the reason they’re doing this is to scare us and to scare you guys. And by doing that, they’re scaring everyone that’s using Google," Flaa remarked.

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What else do we know about Blake Lively’s legal team subpoenaing 16 creators via Google?

Blake Lively (Image via Getty Images)

Blake Lively made headlines after her legal team issued a subpoena to Google, demanding the personal and financial information of at least 16 YouTubers who had posted content supportive of actor-director Justin Baldoni amidst her legal battle with the actor.

According to a Daily Mail report dated July 15, 2025, the publication obtained a copy of the subpoena, dated July 3, 2025, and sent from Lively’s attorney, Esra Hudson, at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

The 26-page document listed 16 YouTubers and demanded that Google hand over details including email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, and financial data such as credit card numbers, bank account details, and even blockchain addresses.

The subpoena from Lively via Google also requested a log of every session the creators had on their accounts since May 1, 2024, including exact dates and times. Some of the creators named in the subpoena are prominent YouTubers with large followings, while others have relatively modest platforms, with fewer than 300 subscribers.

As per the aforementioned Daily Mail report, one of the most vocal recipients of Blake Lively’s subpoena via Google was Andy Signore, host of the popular YouTube channel Popcorned Planet.

In a conversation with Daily Mail, Signore expressed his disbelief and frustration at the legal maneuver, interpreting it as an attempt to silence independent voices.

"It’s shocking to be honest. Not because I have anything to hide, but because she thinks she can just bully and intimidate independent journalists. I won’t let her… my lawyers and I will be fighting all of it," he told the Daily Mail.

Florida-based YouTuber Lauren Neidigh, who has a modest following of around 20,000 subscribers and is known for covering updates on the Lively-Baldoni case, also found her name on the list. She initially believed the email notice was a scam until she confirmed its legitimacy.

"When I first got the email, I was so shocked… I had a couple of my lawyer friends look at it. I was like, what do I even do about this?… Now we’ve determined this is real and not a scam, I intend to file my own motion to quash and fight her myself," Neidigh told Daily Mail.

Norwegian entertainment journalist Kjersti Flaa—who had previously been linked to allegations of a smear campaign against Lively involving Baldoni—was also among those subpoenaed.

Political commentator Candace Owens was another name on the list. According to the Daily Mail report, she even responded to her subpoena notice publicly. In a video to her 4.4 million followers, Owens said she was “elated” and “honored” to receive the legal demand.

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, TMZ reported that podcaster Perez Hilton was also subpoenaed by Lively’s legal team. However, in a video shared on July 15, 2025, Hilton stated that as of Monday, July 14, 2025, he had not received any legal notice from Lively’s team.

In another video (posted on July 14, 2025), Hilton also revealed that an astrologer who ran a small YouTube channel called Astrology with Janessa had also been subpoenaed by Lively.

As per the July 15 Daily Mail report, more prominent and influential creators with massive followings received broader demands in their subpoena notices compared to smaller creators. These included requests for any and all communications they may have had with Justin Baldoni or his co-defendants in the lawsuit.

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Blake Lively is involved in a high-profile legal skirmish with Justin Baldoni. It stemmed from the sets of It Ends With Us, after Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni, and later alleged that he orchestrated a smear campaign against her.

The lawsuit is now in its discovery stage, and Lively's deposition is set to take place on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Additionally, the trial for this legal battle will take place on March 9, 2026.