Blake Lively allegedly threatened to release a decade's worth of intimate text messages from Taylor Swift unless the singer posted a social media statement excusing Lively's absence from the 2025 Super Bowl. The alleged ultimatum, detailed in reports citing sources close to the situation, emerged as a point of contention during Lively's legal battle with her "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni.
Lively, who attended the 2024 Super Bowl alongside Swift to support her then-boyfriend Travis Kelce, was notably absent from the 2025 championship game. According to the Daily Mail, Lively, through her legal team, demanded Swift craft a social media post stating something to the effect of, "So sad, my bestie couldn't come to the Super Bowl." Insiders claim this was intended to quash speculation of a falling out between the two friends.
If Swift refused, the alleged threat stated that Lively possessed "ten years' worth" of private text messages and conversations that she would release to the public. These messages reportedly chronicled Swift's personal life and failed romances. A representative for Swift declined to comment on the allegations.
These claims first surfaced in court filings made by Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, who alleged that Lively's lawyers attempted to pressure Swift into publicly supporting Lively. Freedman asserted in a May 14 letter to a judge that a source indicated Lively's lawyers made "extortionate threats" to Swift's legal team, demanding a statement of support for Lively in her legal dispute.
Lively's attorney, Michael Gottlieb, has vehemently denied these allegations, calling them "categorically false" and "cowardly sourced."
Further allegations surfaced that Lively had also asked Swift to delete private messages exchanged between them. According to an insider, Lively was concerned these texts would be used to disprove claims related to sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni. The source claimed the messages primarily contained Swift's negative comments about Baldoni and discussions about Lively wanting Swift to help scare him.
The information regarding these alleged threats was reportedly provided by Swift's father, Scott Swift. Sources indicated that Scott Swift voluntarily shared this information as part of a deal to have a subpoena for Taylor Swift withdrawn in the Baldoni case. Freedman argued in court documents that the subpoena sought information related to witness tampering and evidence spoliation, specifically concerning Lively's alleged attempts to "coerce" Swift into siding with her.
Swift's legal team reportedly responded to Lively's "inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication" sent to Lively's attorney. The court documents stated that these communications were sought by Baldoni's team as evidence of an attempt to "intimidate and coerce a percipient witness."
Lively's lawyers filed a motion to strike the accusations from the court record, deeming them "baseless, unnecessary, improper and abusive," and the judge granted the motion to dismiss the letter.
Baldoni's case was dismissed months later, and in May, after most of Lively's claims were dismissed, she settled with Baldoni. She later sued him for $8 million in legal fees, a claim he is contesting.
The rift between the two friends was further highlighted when Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, were conspicuously absent from Swift's July 3 wedding ceremony to Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden. A source familiar with the situation told the Daily Mail that Lively was "sad and a little bit ped. No, a lot ped" about not being invited, stating that any remaining hope for reconciliation was gone.