Scooter Braun is the latest celebrity to be dragged into Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni‘s ongoing legal battle.
On Tuesday, June 10, HYBE America — an entertainment/media company of which Braun, 43, is CEO — was sent a notice of subpoena by the Gossip Girl star’s lawyers, according to Deadline.
South Korean company HYBE acquired Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in April 2021.
HYBE America holds a majority stake in the PR firm named in Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, 41, and his team. The lawsuit accuses the firm’s founder — who’s a co-defendant in the case — of leading a smear campaign against the actress. The subpoena is intended to obtain any documents that Braun’s company has related to the work the agency’s founder did for Baldoni.
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Braun, of course, has a well-known public feud with Lively’s friend Taylor Swift, which began in 2019 when he acquired her music catalog without her consent. While the pop star was initially subpoenaed by Baldoni’s legal team, the subpoena was later withdrawn. Swift, 35, and Lively, 37, are reportedly no longer on the best of terms.
The notice of subpoena comes one day after Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed the defamation and extortion countersuit filed by Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane. Judge Liman also dismissed the $250 million claim by the actor against The New York Times.
Lively’s lawyers, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, called the Monday, June 9, ruling a “total victory and a complete vindication,” according to a statement to People.
However, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, told TMZ on Tuesday that this was just a temporary setback.
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“Ms. Lively and her team’s predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling. While the Court dismissed the defamation related claims, the Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations,” Freedman, who has until Monday, June 23, to file an amendment, told the outlet.
“This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign,” he added.
“Ms. Lively’s own claims are no truer today than they were yesterday,” Freedman continued. “With the facts on our side, we march forward and look forward to her forthcoming deposition, which I will be taking.”
The legal saga between the two actors began in December 2024, after Lively filed a lawsuit alleging that Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set of their film It Ends With Us. Baldoni, who also directed the film, denied the allegations and filed a $400 million countersuit in January 2025. A trial date has been set for March 9, 2026, in New York City.