Anonymous wrote:Taylor is trying to distance herself because she doesn't want to respond to this subpoena and she dies not want to be deposed. So no, it would not make sense for her to go out if her way to highlight that she was providing emotional support to Blake during the movie. All this would would give Freedman something to quite in a subpoena. She wants to give him nothing.

I also think Taylor is on the outside with Blake and annoyed that she's even in this position. But I think her primary motive in her comments is legal, not personal. Right now, it's not in Taylor's best legal interest to be seen as close to Blake or even a form of emotional support during the movie.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want to note that as a Swiftie, I don't get the people saying that her statement about not being involved with the movie other than licensing a song means she was saying "Blake lied." As someone who pays a weird amount of attention to stuff Taylor says, I don't get this.

Blake did interviews where she said stuff like "Taylor was with me through the whole thing, for better or worse." I think she obviously meant emotionally, as a friend. She wasn't saying Taylor made the movie with her, obviously. Taylor was doing Eras and starting a new serious relationship with someone who, like her, travels constantly and has a demanding job. The idea that Taylor was just quietly trying to take over this movie in between all that is silly and I don't think Blake ever implied that. She was just saying that making the movie was hard and Taylor, as her friend, supported her through it. Which I am sure was true.

So when Taylor made the comment about how she just contributed the song (which was not written for the movie), didn't score the movie, didn't participate in production, and didn't see the movie until weeks after it opened, I don't think it was some repudiation of Blake. She supported Blake in making the movie, was "with her" in the way friends are always with each other while they do hard things. It doesn't strike me as contrary to what Blake had said previously.

That said, it does seem like there are issues between them and if Blake asked her to delete messages or was leaning on Taylor to support her publicly, I could see Taylor distancing herself. But they've been friends a long time. I also don't think Taylor cares AT ALL about Justin Baldoni and has zero interest in helping him with his case or siding with him against Blake.

Just my two cents.

But you are mischaracterizing this. Blake never said Taylor was with me emotionally for better or for worse. The quotes about Taylor being in this with her were said during happier times when she was promoting the movie and everything was sunshine and roses. You can look up the video yourself, but she said that Taylor was intimately involved in the movie every step of the way and that’s just the kind of friend she is. She also told Isabella and Justin that Taylor helped cast young Lily and went over those tapes. It is clear that Taylor was in the apartment for a meeting and that Blake used her influence to threaten Justin. I’ve got dragons and you want them on your side, you may recall, is essentially what she said. It sounds like she purposely had Taylor at that meeting and Taylor was blindsided and didn’t know there was going to be a meeting there.

Further, we have legal documents showing that Blake threatened to pull my tears ricochet from the marketing if Justin didn’t do something that she wanted. We now know she probably never had the power to do that as Taylor’s team licensed the song and Taylor wasn’t going to be bothered during her tour to get into that mess.

This was in no way saying Taylor supported her emotionally. We have several examples of her lying and manipulating things to make it seem as if Taylor was part of the creative team and would be willing to use her power to help Blake get the creative control she wanted. Taylor is unequivocally denying this and in doing so throwing Blake completely under the bus. It really is karma because Blake was trying to use Taylor to lift her up, and now Taylor is completely trashing her public reputation. And that is why when she didn’t get invited to the Super Bowl, she turned to threats and extortion.

It seems that Taylor‘s team and had enough and went to freedman.

Please link the bolded.

It was on the video that I posted yesterday. She says it a few times. It’s the video with Gayle King, etc

Actually there are two separate videos. The video with Gayle King was more about her emotional support, she was with me for better for worse through this.

But I was talking about the one at the New York screening of the movie when things were more upbeat, and she said that Taylor “lived this experience with her” and was with her “every step of the way.”

But there are also videos of Justin, and separate videos of Isabella, talking about Taylor‘s role in casting. It seems like they were just going on what Blake told them. It doesn’t sound like it was actually true.

Both of the videos of Blake you mention strike me as referencing emotional support. Saying a friend was "with me every step of the way" does not mean she worked on the movie with her. That's like the sort of thing I'd say about my friend who supported me during IVF, or a friend who was my moral support when I got laid off and had to find a new job. It doesn't mean "my friend worked on this movie with me." It means my friend was close to me while I went through something hard.

I suspect the story about Taylor's involvement in casting Isabella was a marketing ploy to draw attention to the movie by mentioning Taylor in interviews and red carpet appearances. Because they all did it -- Blake, Isabella, Justin. I agree it's probably not true, beyond Taylor maybe seeing a photo or video of Isabella at some point and agreeing that she looks a lot like Blake. I don't think it means anything.

It would’ve been really easy for Taylor to include in her statement that she had supported her friend if she was talking about emotional support. She could’ve easily said, while Taylor was not involved in creative decisions, she was there to support her friend every step of the way in this movie. Instead, they went the opposite, it said she was distracted by doing the biggest tour ever, she wasn’t involved in any part of this nonsense in short.

It would’ve been very easy to talk about the support of her friend and she didn’t. That is actually worse.

Either way, she very much contradicts Blake and distances herself. And it doesn’t explain all the videos of the cast and Justin talking about how Taylor had to a role in casting decisions. Again, Taylor could’ve said I was involved in casting decisions, and she didn’t, which contradicts Blake.

Even her talking about this song was very cold and impersonal. She could’ve said I lent my song to this film, instead she talked about licensing, which is something the artist isn’t involved in her team.

It was a really short statement but in a few words, it’s a slap in the face to Blake. I find it funny that people are trying to justify it or make it better or somehow say that it convinces Swifties to be on Blake’s side. It doesn’t.

It would not have been easy, in the sense she never does something like this. I think between her very stern, protective of her business, in-charge dad and her own instincts about self preservation due to fame and users, this is just something she never does as blanket policy. A good friend would know this and not expect this sort of show of friendship from her and not blab about her.

Right, except they are clearly not good friends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want to note that as a Swiftie, I don't get the people saying that her statement about not being involved with the movie other than licensing a song means she was saying "Blake lied." As someone who pays a weird amount of attention to stuff Taylor says, I don't get this.

Blake did interviews where she said stuff like "Taylor was with me through the whole thing, for better or worse." I think she obviously meant emotionally, as a friend. She wasn't saying Taylor made the movie with her, obviously. Taylor was doing Eras and starting a new serious relationship with someone who, like her, travels constantly and has a demanding job. The idea that Taylor was just quietly trying to take over this movie in between all that is silly and I don't think Blake ever implied that. She was just saying that making the movie was hard and Taylor, as her friend, supported her through it. Which I am sure was true.

So when Taylor made the comment about how she just contributed the song (which was not written for the movie), didn't score the movie, didn't participate in production, and didn't see the movie until weeks after it opened, I don't think it was some repudiation of Blake. She supported Blake in making the movie, was "with her" in the way friends are always with each other while they do hard things. It doesn't strike me as contrary to what Blake had said previously.

That said, it does seem like there are issues between them and if Blake asked her to delete messages or was leaning on Taylor to support her publicly, I could see Taylor distancing herself. But they've been friends a long time. I also don't think Taylor cares AT ALL about Justin Baldoni and has zero interest in helping him with his case or siding with him against Blake.

Just my two cents.

But you are mischaracterizing this. Blake never said Taylor was with me emotionally for better or for worse. The quotes about Taylor being in this with her were said during happier times when she was promoting the movie and everything was sunshine and roses. You can look up the video yourself, but she said that Taylor was intimately involved in the movie every step of the way and that’s just the kind of friend she is. She also told Isabella and Justin that Taylor helped cast young Lily and went over those tapes. It is clear that Taylor was in the apartment for a meeting and that Blake used her influence to threaten Justin. I’ve got dragons and you want them on your side, you may recall, is essentially what she said. It sounds like she purposely had Taylor at that meeting and Taylor was blindsided and didn’t know there was going to be a meeting there.

Further, we have legal documents showing that Blake threatened to pull my tears ricochet from the marketing if Justin didn’t do something that she wanted. We now know she probably never had the power to do that as Taylor’s team licensed the song and Taylor wasn’t going to be bothered during her tour to get into that mess.

This was in no way saying Taylor supported her emotionally. We have several examples of her lying and manipulating things to make it seem as if Taylor was part of the creative team and would be willing to use her power to help Blake get the creative control she wanted. Taylor is unequivocally denying this and in doing so throwing Blake completely under the bus. It really is karma because Blake was trying to use Taylor to lift her up, and now Taylor is completely trashing her public reputation. And that is why when she didn’t get invited to the Super Bowl, she turned to threats and extortion.

It seems that Taylor‘s team and had enough and went to freedman.

Please link the bolded.

It was on the video that I posted yesterday. She says it a few times. It’s the video with Gayle King, etc

Actually there are two separate videos. The video with Gayle King was more about her emotional support, she was with me for better for worse through this.

But I was talking about the one at the New York screening of the movie when things were more upbeat, and she said that Taylor “lived this experience with her” and was with her “every step of the way.”

But there are also videos of Justin, and separate videos of Isabella, talking about Taylor‘s role in casting. It seems like they were just going on what Blake told them. It doesn’t sound like it was actually true.

Both of the videos of Blake you mention strike me as referencing emotional support. Saying a friend was "with me every step of the way" does not mean she worked on the movie with her. That's like the sort of thing I'd say about my friend who supported me during IVF, or a friend who was my moral support when I got laid off and had to find a new job. It doesn't mean "my friend worked on this movie with me." It means my friend was close to me while I went through something hard.

I suspect the story about Taylor's involvement in casting Isabella was a marketing ploy to draw attention to the movie by mentioning Taylor in interviews and red carpet appearances. Because they all did it -- Blake, Isabella, Justin. I agree it's probably not true, beyond Taylor maybe seeing a photo or video of Isabella at some point and agreeing that she looks a lot like Blake. I don't think it means anything.

It would’ve been really easy for Taylor to include in her statement that she had supported her friend if she was talking about emotional support. She could’ve easily said, while Taylor was not involved in creative decisions, she was there to support her friend every step of the way in this movie. Instead, they went the opposite, it said she was distracted by doing the biggest tour ever, she wasn’t involved in any part of this nonsense in short.

It would’ve been very easy to talk about the support of her friend and she didn’t. That is actually worse.

Either way, she very much contradicts Blake and distances herself. And it doesn’t explain all the videos of the cast and Justin talking about how Taylor had to a role in casting decisions. Again, Taylor could’ve said I was involved in casting decisions, and she didn’t, which contradicts Blake.

Even her talking about this song was very cold and impersonal. She could’ve said I lent my song to this film, instead she talked about licensing, which is something the artist isn’t involved in her team.

It was a really short statement but in a few words, it’s a slap in the face to Blake. I find it funny that people are trying to justify it or make it better or somehow say that it convinces Swifties to be on Blake’s side. It doesn’t.

It would not have been easy, in the sense she never does something like this. I think between her very stern, protective of her business, in-charge dad and her own instincts about self preservation due to fame and users, this is just something she never does as blanket policy. A good friend would know this and not expect this sort of show of friendship from her and not blab about her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want to note that as a Swiftie, I don't get the people saying that her statement about not being involved with the movie other than licensing a song means she was saying "Blake lied." As someone who pays a weird amount of attention to stuff Taylor says, I don't get this.

Blake did interviews where she said stuff like "Taylor was with me through the whole thing, for better or worse." I think she obviously meant emotionally, as a friend. She wasn't saying Taylor made the movie with her, obviously. Taylor was doing Eras and starting a new serious relationship with someone who, like her, travels constantly and has a demanding job. The idea that Taylor was just quietly trying to take over this movie in between all that is silly and I don't think Blake ever implied that. She was just saying that making the movie was hard and Taylor, as her friend, supported her through it. Which I am sure was true.

So when Taylor made the comment about how she just contributed the song (which was not written for the movie), didn't score the movie, didn't participate in production, and didn't see the movie until weeks after it opened, I don't think it was some repudiation of Blake. She supported Blake in making the movie, was "with her" in the way friends are always with each other while they do hard things. It doesn't strike me as contrary to what Blake had said previously.

That said, it does seem like there are issues between them and if Blake asked her to delete messages or was leaning on Taylor to support her publicly, I could see Taylor distancing herself. But they've been friends a long time. I also don't think Taylor cares AT ALL about Justin Baldoni and has zero interest in helping him with his case or siding with him against Blake.

Just my two cents.

But you are mischaracterizing this. Blake never said Taylor was with me emotionally for better or for worse. The quotes about Taylor being in this with her were said during happier times when she was promoting the movie and everything was sunshine and roses. You can look up the video yourself, but she said that Taylor was intimately involved in the movie every step of the way and that’s just the kind of friend she is. She also told Isabella and Justin that Taylor helped cast young Lily and went over those tapes. It is clear that Taylor was in the apartment for a meeting and that Blake used her influence to threaten Justin. I’ve got dragons and you want them on your side, you may recall, is essentially what she said. It sounds like she purposely had Taylor at that meeting and Taylor was blindsided and didn’t know there was going to be a meeting there.

Further, we have legal documents showing that Blake threatened to pull my tears ricochet from the marketing if Justin didn’t do something that she wanted. We now know she probably never had the power to do that as Taylor’s team licensed the song and Taylor wasn’t going to be bothered during her tour to get into that mess.

This was in no way saying Taylor supported her emotionally. We have several examples of her lying and manipulating things to make it seem as if Taylor was part of the creative team and would be willing to use her power to help Blake get the creative control she wanted. Taylor is unequivocally denying this and in doing so throwing Blake completely under the bus. It really is karma because Blake was trying to use Taylor to lift her up, and now Taylor is completely trashing her public reputation. And that is why when she didn’t get invited to the Super Bowl, she turned to threats and extortion.

It seems that Taylor‘s team and had enough and went to freedman.

Please link the bolded.

It was on the video that I posted yesterday. She says it a few times. It’s the video with Gayle King, etc

Actually there are two separate videos. The video with Gayle King was more about her emotional support, she was with me for better for worse through this.

But I was talking about the one at the New York screening of the movie when things were more upbeat, and she said that Taylor “lived this experience with her” and was with her “every step of the way.”

But there are also videos of Justin, and separate videos of Isabella, talking about Taylor‘s role in casting. It seems like they were just going on what Blake told them. It doesn’t sound like it was actually true.

Both of the videos of Blake you mention strike me as referencing emotional support. Saying a friend was "with me every step of the way" does not mean she worked on the movie with her. That's like the sort of thing I'd say about my friend who supported me during IVF, or a friend who was my moral support when I got laid off and had to find a new job. It doesn't mean "my friend worked on this movie with me." It means my friend was close to me while I went through something hard.

I suspect the story about Taylor's involvement in casting Isabella was a marketing ploy to draw attention to the movie by mentioning Taylor in interviews and red carpet appearances. Because they all did it -- Blake, Isabella, Justin. I agree it's probably not true, beyond Taylor maybe seeing a photo or video of Isabella at some point and agreeing that she looks a lot like Blake. I don't think it means anything.

It would’ve been really easy for Taylor to include in her statement that she had supported her friend if she was talking about emotional support. She could’ve easily said, while Taylor was not involved in creative decisions, she was there to support her friend every step of the way in this movie. Instead, they went the opposite, it said she was distracted by doing the biggest tour ever, she wasn’t involved in any part of this nonsense in short.

It would’ve been very easy to talk about the support of her friend and she didn’t. That is actually worse.

Either way, she very much contradicts Blake and distances herself. And it doesn’t explain all the videos of the cast and Justin talking about how Taylor had to a role in casting decisions. Again, Taylor could’ve said I was involved in casting decisions, and she didn’t, which contradicts Blake.

Even her talking about this song was very cold and impersonal. She could’ve said I lent my song to this film, instead she talked about licensing, which is something the artist isn’t involved in her team.

It was a really short statement but in a few words, it’s a slap in the face to Blake. I find it funny that people are trying to justify it or make it better or somehow say that it convinces Swifties to be on Blake’s side. It doesn’t.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want to note that as a Swiftie, I don't get the people saying that her statement about not being involved with the movie other than licensing a song means she was saying "Blake lied." As someone who pays a weird amount of attention to stuff Taylor says, I don't get this.

Blake did interviews where she said stuff like "Taylor was with me through the whole thing, for better or worse." I think she obviously meant emotionally, as a friend. She wasn't saying Taylor made the movie with her, obviously. Taylor was doing Eras and starting a new serious relationship with someone who, like her, travels constantly and has a demanding job. The idea that Taylor was just quietly trying to take over this movie in between all that is silly and I don't think Blake ever implied that. She was just saying that making the movie was hard and Taylor, as her friend, supported her through it. Which I am sure was true.

So when Taylor made the comment about how she just contributed the song (which was not written for the movie), didn't score the movie, didn't participate in production, and didn't see the movie until weeks after it opened, I don't think it was some repudiation of Blake. She supported Blake in making the movie, was "with her" in the way friends are always with each other while they do hard things. It doesn't strike me as contrary to what Blake had said previously.

That said, it does seem like there are issues between them and if Blake asked her to delete messages or was leaning on Taylor to support her publicly, I could see Taylor distancing herself. But they've been friends a long time. I also don't think Taylor cares AT ALL about Justin Baldoni and has zero interest in helping him with his case or siding with him against Blake.

Just my two cents.

But you are mischaracterizing this. Blake never said Taylor was with me emotionally for better or for worse. The quotes about Taylor being in this with her were said during happier times when she was promoting the movie and everything was sunshine and roses. You can look up the video yourself, but she said that Taylor was intimately involved in the movie every step of the way and that’s just the kind of friend she is. She also told Isabella and Justin that Taylor helped cast young Lily and went over those tapes. It is clear that Taylor was in the apartment for a meeting and that Blake used her influence to threaten Justin. I’ve got dragons and you want them on your side, you may recall, is essentially what she said. It sounds like she purposely had Taylor at that meeting and Taylor was blindsided and didn’t know there was going to be a meeting there.

Further, we have legal documents showing that Blake threatened to pull my tears ricochet from the marketing if Justin didn’t do something that she wanted. We now know she probably never had the power to do that as Taylor’s team licensed the song and Taylor wasn’t going to be bothered during her tour to get into that mess.

This was in no way saying Taylor supported her emotionally. We have several examples of her lying and manipulating things to make it seem as if Taylor was part of the creative team and would be willing to use her power to help Blake get the creative control she wanted. Taylor is unequivocally denying this and in doing so throwing Blake completely under the bus. It really is karma because Blake was trying to use Taylor to lift her up, and now Taylor is completely trashing her public reputation. And that is why when she didn’t get invited to the Super Bowl, she turned to threats and extortion.

It seems that Taylor‘s team and had enough and went to freedman.

Please link the bolded.

It was on the video that I posted yesterday. She says it a few times. It’s the video with Gayle King, etc

Actually there are two separate videos. The video with Gayle King was more about her emotional support, she was with me for better for worse through this.

But I was talking about the one at the New York screening of the movie when things were more upbeat, and she said that Taylor “lived this experience with her” and was with her “every step of the way.”

But there are also videos of Justin, and separate videos of Isabella, talking about Taylor‘s role in casting. It seems like they were just going on what Blake told them. It doesn’t sound like it was actually true.

Both of the videos of Blake you mention strike me as referencing emotional support. Saying a friend was "with me every step of the way" does not mean she worked on the movie with her. That's like the sort of thing I'd say about my friend who supported me during IVF, or a friend who was my moral support when I got laid off and had to find a new job. It doesn't mean "my friend worked on this movie with me." It means my friend was close to me while I went through something hard.

I suspect the story about Taylor's involvement in casting Isabella was a marketing ploy to draw attention to the movie by mentioning Taylor in interviews and red carpet appearances. Because they all did it -- Blake, Isabella, Justin. I agree it's probably not true, beyond Taylor maybe seeing a photo or video of Isabella at some point and agreeing that she looks a lot like Blake. I don't think it means anything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting reading the Swiftie subreddits on this. All the ones I follow definitely lean pro-Blake, or at least people are highly skeptical of JB. There are a few people who argue for JB but it just gets no purchase.

You have to understand Swiftie subculture though. For instance, JB's connections to Scooter Braun are basically a red line for a lot of Swiftie's. This video has made the rounds on a few subreddits and I've seen people who are like "ok hard no he's trash" based on this alone: https://www.acalltomen.org/resources/man-enough-episode-metoo-with-tony-porter-and-justin-baldoni/

(It's a round table that Baldoni and Heath did with a group of men and a couple women about #MeToo -- one of the men is Scooter. Also full disclosure I tried to watch it and it's sooooooo cringey I didn't even get to the Scooter parts because I find the faux-feminism of Baldoni, Heath, and Matt freaking McGorry so revolting.)

Anyway, if the goal of all this is to turn Swifts against Blake, it's not working. Taylor's silence on all of this seems to be having the effect of making most of us reserve judgement. Which, honestly, is pretty wise. I certainly am not going to take the word of Bryan Freedman, who seems to have been harassing Tay and trying to drag her into this for months against her will.

Funny I’m reading a TS subreddit and yea, there’s skepticism for JB but it is written in a very immature fashion. And there are some posters who express skepticism about Blake and they get downvoted. One person commented how strange it was to see such support for BL bc everywhere else was pro justin. As if they thought the posts weren’t organic

Anonymous wrote:February 14th was when the amended complaint was due, and Blake was fishing for additional plaintiffs. When that didn’t work it, she might have been shopping for statements of support.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So Esra Hudson's letter says: "It is worth stating for the record, however, that each of the allegations in the Freedman Letter is unequivocally and demonstrably false."

That means Willkie Farr is denying all of the following allegations from Freedman's letter, and saying that none of them are true:

1. Ms. Lively requested that Taylor Swift delete their text messages;

2. Michael Gottlieb of Willkie Farr, counsel for the Lively Defendants, contacted a Venable attorney who represents Ms. Swift and demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively’s possession would be released.

3. A representative of Ms. Swift addressed these inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication transmitted to Mr. Gottlieb.

Looking at Freedman's wording, I'm wondering whether this could be a misunderstanding related to the protective order motion? Like, did Gottlieb contact Venable asking whether they would be comfortable intervening as a third party to ask for AEO protections for third parties, because if they didn't, their text messages might get released without higher confidentiality?

That would make Freedman look like an idiot. But I am struggling to understand how Hudson can confidently say that all of the above is false. It's just weird, man.

PP again raising again the possibility that the Gottlieb conversation, if it was really just a garbled mistranslation of something that truly happened, could have had something to do with the protective order fight. The timing seems to work out. Looking at the docket, that fight had been teed up in early February (2/3) when the court asked the parties to agree on a PO, and it was on February 20th that Gottlieb filed his motion noting that the parties could not agree on the terms of a PO. If Gottlieb had asked Swift to intervene in the PO discussions as a third party (sort of similarly to how Gottlieb is attempting to intervene in the Motion to Quash involving Venable in DC), those discussions with Venable would have been happening sometime around February 14th when Freedman's conversation with his "source" occurred -- they would have been prepping for and setting the scene for the PO fight at least a week or two before Gottlieb filed his motion on the 20th. Gottlieb could have been considering issues like, would it make sense for a third party to join our PO motion to defend their privacy interests, since if we lose their texts etc. would not be AEO? The timing seems, to me, to work out for whatever "tip" Freedman got regarding Gottlieb talking to Venable to have potentially involved the PO hearing. It seems possible, though admittedly a stretch.

It doesn't seem like Swift received her own subpoena involving the case this early -- the Venable DC motion notes that the Venable-represented third party (presumably, Swift) didn't get a subpoena until days after Venable's, which wasn't served until April. So Gottlieb and Venable presumably wouldn't have had reason to communicate about that in February.

I also went back and looked at the PO hearing transcript. It was interesting because Freedman tried to deemphasize the interests that third parties would have in protecting their confidential info in the case. At one point Freedman even suggests that the only third interests involved in the case were one specific Sony representative, and Governski corrects him: "Mr. Freedman made some reference about his attempt to limit the number of third parties. Again, I am restrained by their own use of the confidential designation on their [exhibit]. But I will represent that there are dozens and dozens of third parties specifically named and identified even in -- I'll stop there. Specifically named. So he knows full well that there will be many third-party privacy interests implicated in his own requests." (Freedman also does not seem to be aware of the fact that he had subpoenaed Lively's home security firm, so I'm not sure he's all there.)

This hearing happened on March 6, a few weeks after Freedman's alleged calls with his "source" started. Gottlieb was in attendance at the hearing. Freedman doesn't allude to these calls or conversations involving Gottlieb in any way that I can tell, besides seeming generally put out by the idea that a celebrity or high profile individual should be given any greater confidentiality protections for their personal information due to the public's greater interest in them. No sly remarks about Gottlieb or concerns expressed about destruction of evidence or extortion, fwiw. Not crazy if he was still determining the reliability of his "source," but I also might expect a wildcard like Freedman to make some aside here or there, and he did not afaict (besides his generally derisive attitude towards celebrities, his bread and butter lol).

link to the transcript though I bet no one cares lol!
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304.122.0.pdf

Also, just to agree with PP on the Swiftie discussion that it would be hard to find a bigger villain than Scooter Braun in Swift's orbit. I'm not sure Swift and Lively will ever be proper friends again, and the dragon comment was a real betrayal of trust imho, but imho anyone who is buds with Scotter is not getting invited to the party, either.

Anonymous wrote:So Esra Hudson's letter says: "It is worth stating for the record, however, that each of the allegations in the Freedman Letter is unequivocally and demonstrably false."

That means Willkie Farr is denying all of the following allegations from Freedman's letter, and saying that none of them are true:

1. Ms. Lively requested that Taylor Swift delete their text messages;

2. Michael Gottlieb of Willkie Farr, counsel for the Lively Defendants, contacted a Venable attorney who represents Ms. Swift and demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively’s possession would be released.

3. A representative of Ms. Swift addressed these inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication transmitted to Mr. Gottlieb.

Looking at Freedman's wording, I'm wondering whether this could be a misunderstanding related to the protective order motion? Like, did Gottlieb contact Venable asking whether they would be comfortable intervening as a third party to ask for AEO protections for third parties, because if they didn't, their text messages might get released without higher confidentiality?

That would make Freedman look like an idiot. But I am struggling to understand how Hudson can confidently say that all of the above is false. It's just weird, man.

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting reading the Swiftie subreddits on this. All the ones I follow definitely lean pro-Blake, or at least people are highly skeptical of JB. There are a few people who argue for JB but it just gets no purchase.

You have to understand Swiftie subculture though. For instance, JB's connections to Scooter Braun are basically a red line for a lot of Swiftie's. This video has made the rounds on a few subreddits and I've seen people who are like "ok hard no he's trash" based on this alone: https://www.acalltomen.org/resources/man-enough-episode-metoo-with-tony-porter-and-justin-baldoni/

(It's a round table that Baldoni and Heath did with a group of men and a couple women about #MeToo -- one of the men is Scooter. Also full disclosure I tried to watch it and it's sooooooo cringey I didn't even get to the Scooter parts because I find the faux-feminism of Baldoni, Heath, and Matt freaking McGorry so revolting.)

Anyway, if the goal of all this is to turn Swifts against Blake, it's not working. Taylor's silence on all of this seems to be having the effect of making most of us reserve judgement. Which, honestly, is pretty wise. I certainly am not going to take the word of Bryan Freedman, who seems to have been harassing Tay and trying to drag her into this for months against her will.