Blake Lively Subpoenas Justin Baldoni’s Phone Records in Lawsuit Over Alleged Smear Campaign

Celebrity Gossips
Alex Jane
February 13, 2025
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7 minutes read

Lia Toby/Getty Images, James Devaney/Getty Images

Blake Lively’s legal team has escalated its lawsuit against It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni, issuing a subpoena on Wednesday for his phone records. The move is part of Lively’s ongoing allegations that Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign against her following claims of sexual harassment on set.

According to Lively’s attorneys, previously obtained text messages from Jennifer Abel, a publicist linked to Baldoni, suggest a deliberate effort to “bury” and “destroy” Lively’s reputation. However, her legal team believes additional records are necessary to uncover the full extent of the alleged retaliation.

To strengthen their case, Lively’s lawyers have subpoenaed phone carriers AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile for records tied to Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, and Wayfarer Studios co-founder Steve Sarowitz. The request also extends to publicists Abel and Melissa Nathan, seeking details of their involvement in the purported campaign, told Daily Mail.

“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,” a spokesperson for Lively said. “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.”

Lively’s legal team has also issued subpoenas to Cloudflare and AOL, along with crisis consultant Jed Wallace, whom they accuse of orchestrating a “digital army” to attack Lively on Baldoni’s behalf. Wallace has denied any involvement and has responded by filing a defamation lawsuit against Lively.

Attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, representing Lively, stressed the significance of their latest legal efforts, stating: “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.”

According to Lively’s team, existing messages in the case suggest Wallace played a key role in shaping negative narratives about her. “We look forward to investigating more about Jed Wallace’s entire business model and what else he was doing to distract from the very real sexual harassment and retaliation claims made by Ms. Lively,” her spokesperson added.

The requested phone records are expected to reveal call logs and metadata that may further establish communication between key figures in the alleged smear campaign. As the case progresses, both sides are likely to push for more evidence, intensifying the legal battle in what could be a high-profile courtroom showdown.