Justin Baldoni’s legal team is fighting back after Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds filed subpoenas earlier this week. The couple is demanding phone and text records from Baldoni as part of their ongoing legal battle.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Mitchell Schuster, sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman on February 14, criticizing the subpoenas for being excessively broad. Schuster argued that they were “flagrantly overbroad,” saying, “It’s difficult to overstate just how invasive and unusual these subpoenas are. This is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal case, and Lively and Reynolds are not law enforcement.”
The subpoenas were directed to phone companies AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, requesting years of phone records, including call logs, text messages, location data, and browsing history. Baldoni’s team claims that the request is too invasive and unnecessary for the case, especially since it could reveal personal information about many people unrelated to the dispute.
The conflict began in December 2024 when Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment during the filming of It Ends with Us. She also alleged that Baldoni and his team attempted to tarnish her reputation by spreading negative stories about her. Baldoni has denied all of these accusations. In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloane’s PR firm, accusing them of civil extortion and defamation. This lawsuit, Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al., is set for trial on March 9, 2026.
In response to Baldoni’s objections to the subpoenas, a spokesperson for Lively questioned why Baldoni was resisting the subpoenas if he truly had evidence supporting his claims. “If they have all this proof, why are they so afraid to show it?” the spokesperson asked.
The spokesperson also referenced alleged messages between Baldoni and his PR team. “Baldoni and his team have already admitted that Lively raised concerns multiple times,” the spokesperson stated. “They even admitted to creating a plan to spread stories portraying Lively as a ‘bully’ and accusing her of ‘weaponizing feminism.’ They bragged about manipulating the narrative online.”
Baldoni’s other lawyer, Bryan Freedman, also criticized the subpoenas, calling them extreme. He explained that subpoenas are a typical part of legal proceedings, but what the Lively couple is requesting goes too far. “They’ve asked for every call, text, data log, and even real-time location info from the last two and a half years, no matter who sent or received it,” Freedman said. “This is a huge fishing expedition, and they’ll find no evidence to support their false claims.”
Schuster has asked Judge Liman to address the dispute quickly, noting that the phone companies might soon provide the requested information unless the judge intervenes.