We now know why Justin Baldoni is so desperate to get the text messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift!
Right after the filmmaker’s defamation lawsuit was dismissed, the Another Simple Favor star sought a court order to block him from “continuing demands” to see her communications with her former best friend. She claimed his legal team kept pursuing the texts, etc. “at the same time they have refused to produce to Ms. Lively the documents they publicly claimed to have received as part of a deal to withdraw their subpoenas to Ms. Swift and her counsel.” Therefore, she felt she should “be relieved from producing documents responsive to” those requests.
Blake also thinks she had a “good cause” not to give up her texts with Tay! She said his legal team’s “tactic” is to “make Ms. Swift and her fan base central to their media strategy against Ms. Lively.” She’s accusing him of weaponizing the Swifties against her! Her argument is that’s the only reason he dragged the singer into the legal mess and demanded her communications!
However, according to Justin, he has a very good reason why he still needs them after dropping the subpoena…
Related: Human Remains Found Near Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island Home Have Been Identified
In a response filing on Tuesday, per Billboard, the actor’s attorneys said these texts may help disprove Blake’s claims she was sexually harassed on the set of It Ends With Us, as well as her accusations of a retaliatory smear campaign. Furthermore, it could prove she lied about suffering emotional distress afterward.
Wait! Huh?!
Justin’s legal team claimed Blake’s discovery disclosures note Taylor was someone who knew about what she went through. Because of this, they argue Taylor would know if the mom of four actually was emotionally distressed because they socialized amid the ordeal, even going out on a double date a few months after the movie dropped.
OK…
But how do these texts between Taylor and Blake prove without a doubt that the Gossip Girl alum was not emotionally distressed from the alleged sexual harassment and retaliation she faced? Let’s say she does come across as happy or talk about her experience with It Ends With Us positively in the messages. It could just mean Blake didn’t want to get into what happened. Even if she never talked about it in texts to Taylor, that doesn’t prove she never felt bad.
So why would Justin think the texts are enough evidence to back she’s lying?
What if… what if his attorney, Bryan Freedman, already knows what to look for? What if he knows what a few messages say?! Remember, the reason the lawyer subpoenaed Taylor in the first place was he received word from a source close to the pop star that Blake tried to extort her. Ryan Reynolds‘ wife allegedly threatened to release 10 years’ worth of intimate, private texts if Tay didn’t make a public show of support for her amid the lawsuit.
Not only that, the person who exposed all this was reportedly Papa Swift! Talk about a man on the inside! But did Scott Swift also mention something about a text convo that would prove Blake fibbed about being distressed? Did someone else slip them the intel? WHAT DO THEY KNOW??
Justin’s lawyers went on to slam the notion they dragged Taylor into the lawsuit! The legal team insisted it was actually Blake who did so, not them! They wrote:
“Although we appreciate the positive influence Ms. Swift’s music has had on her worldwide audience, it was Ms. Lively and not the Wayfarer Parties that contemporaneously inserted Ms. Swift into this dispute, and Ms. Lively cannot use Ms. Swift’s stardom to withhold evidence.”
Clearly, Justin is not giving up without a fight when it comes to the communications between Taylor and Blake! And it’s understandable why! At this point it feels like he has to somehow prove he didn’t harass her! The guy is already financially struggling due to the legal war, so he needs a win. No wonder he’s pushing so hard for these messages if he thinks it’ll show Blake lied!
Whether Justin will succeed, we’ll just have to wait and see. What do YOU think about his response, Perezcious paralegals? Sound OFF in the comments!
[Image via Gent’s Talk Podcast/Vanity Fair/The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube]
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