Blake Lively allegedly threatened to release 10 years of intimate text messages with Taylor Swift unless the singer publicly lied about the reason for Lively's absence from the 2025 Super Bowl, according to reports.
Lively, who attended the 2024 Super Bowl with Swift to support her now-husband Travis Kelce, was notably absent from the 2025 NFL championship game. Sources familiar with the situation claim Lively was humiliated by her exclusion and, through her legal team, demanded Swift post a social media message stating regret that Lively could not attend. The proposed message was intended to quell speculation about a rift between the two.
If Swift refused, the alleged threat detailed that Lively possessed "ten years' worth" of private conversations that would be released to the public. These messages reportedly chronicle Swift's high-profile relationships and other personal moments.
The allegations first surfaced during Lively's legal dispute with her "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni. In May 2024, Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman alleged in court filings that Lively's lawyers attempted to pressure Swift into publicly supporting Lively in the legal battle. Freedman asserted that if Swift did not comply, "private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively's possession would be released."
Lively's lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, vehemently denied these claims, calling them "categorically false" and "cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality."
Freedman later filed a signed affidavit with more details, which was subsequently withdrawn after a judge deemed it "improper" and "irrelevant."
Sources told the Daily Mail that Lively's alleged ultimatum over the Super Bowl became the final incident that ended their decade-long friendship. A source close to Lively, however, stated that "Blake has never threatened to leak Taylor's personal or private text messages."
Swift's team declined to comment on the matter. Swift was reportedly subpoenaed for communications related to the Baldoni case, as Lively sought to distance herself from the drama. Lively also asked Swift to delete their private messages, as noted in Freedman's affidavit, reportedly to prevent them from being used to disprove claims of sexual harassment made by Lively against Baldoni.
Scott Swift, Taylor Swift's father, reportedly provided information to Baldoni's team. According to sources, Scott Swift cooperated with Baldoni's legal team in exchange for the withdrawal of a subpoena for his daughter's communications. Freedman argued in court documents that the subpoena aimed to obtain information about witness tampering and evidence spoliation, specifically Lively's alleged attempts to coerce Swift into publicly siding with her.
Swift's team reportedly responded to Lively's "inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication." The actress's lawyers filed a motion to strike these accusations, which was granted.
Baldoni's case was dismissed in October, and Lively eventually settled her claims against him but later sued him for $8 million in legal fees. Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, were notably absent from Swift's recent wedding to Travis Kelce, a ceremony attended by numerous celebrities. A source indicated that Lively was "devastated" by the lack of an invitation, stating that any remaining hope for their friendship was gone.
