"This is evidence tampering"— Kjersti Flaa reacts to Baldoni's lawyer claiming Blake Lively had asked Taylor Swift to "delete their text messages"

American pop star Taylor Swift is now involved in a legal dispute connected to her former best friend, actress Blake Lively. Lively is in a legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign against her.

On May 14, 2025, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, claimed that Lively’s lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, threatened to release private messages between Swift and Lively unless Swift publicly supported Lively. The next day, journalist Kjersti Flaa shared more details about the alleged threat involving Swift.

Notably, Taylor Swift has also received a subpoena from Baldoni's side to testify in court. Her 2020 song My Tears Ricochet is prominently featured in the film It Ends With Us, and she was also mentioned several times by Blake Lively during the movie's promotions.

After the recent development, where Baldoni's lawyer claimed that Lively’s team had allegedly extorted Swift, the Norwegian junket, celebrity reporter and journalist Kjersti Flaa took to YouTube and shared her views on the ongoing legal drama.

“So Taylor Swift has been asked by Blake Lively to delete their text messages… this is evidence tampering,” she said.

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Justin Baldoni’s side accuses Blake Lively of extorting Taylor Swift

The 41-year-old actor-director's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, on May 14, submitted a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman claiming that Lively is allegedly abusing Swift to release a support statement for her. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Gottlieb, representing Lively, reportedly reached out to an attorney at the law firm, Venable, which represents Swift, and demanded:

“Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively’s possession would be released.”

Bryan Freedman, in his letter, also confirmed that the claims are based on information from a “source who is highly likely to have reliable information” and that Lively has requested Taylor Swift to delete their text messages related to It Ends With Us.

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Blake Lively and Taylor Swift’s reps respond to Justin Baldoni’s claims

Michael Gottlieb from Lively’s side countered the threat text message allegations and said (via The Hollywood Reporter):

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

Meanwhile, after Baldoni’s team issued a subpoena against Swift, the latter's reps, as per People, said the singer:

“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.”

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Notably, as per recent reports, Judge Lewis J. Liman has ruled Baldoni’s team’s claims as inadmissible in court. Meanwhile, the legal battle between the It Ends With Us costars began when Lively filed her lawsuit against Baldoni in December 2024. Things escalated when the director countersued with a $400 million defamation claim.