Megyn Kelly revealed on Thursday that Blake Lively subpoenaed her amid the escalating legal fight with Justin Baldoni, asserting on her podcast that she and her team contested the subpoena and ultimately succeeded. The subpoena sought confidential and proprietary documents believed by Lively to be used by Kelly in covering the ongoing litigation and fallout between Lively and Baldoni on the set of It Ends With Us.
Kelly alleged this subpoena was part of Lively’s broader effort to target journalists and media personalities who have published critical commentary about the actress. On The Megyn Kelly Show, she named more than a dozen individuals including Candace Owens, Perez Hilton, and Zack Peters as also being subject to Lively’s legal actions.
Details on the Scope and Nature of the Subpoena
According to Kelly, Lively’s legal team sought extensive access to the materials her journalists used, which Kelly described as confidential and fundamental to reporting. She emphasized that Lively could not believe Kelly’s negative opinions were genuine, suggesting instead that Kelly was influenced by Baldoni’s legal camp, since both Kelly and Baldoni share the same attorney.
“We were among those Blake Lively targeted,”
Kelly said during her podcast, highlighting the wide reach of Lively’s efforts against critics.
“She actually tried to get the confidential and proprietary materials my team and I used for any and all stories about her,”
Kelly explained.
“Because Blake Lively was unable to fathom that yours truly had developed a genuine revulsion toward her on my own, she posited that I must have been ensnared in Baldoni’s alleged ongoing ‘smear campaign’ against her.”
Kelly further revealed that Lively insinuated the attorney shared by both Kelly and Baldoni must be shaping their media coverage, and even accused Kelly of being financially compensated by Baldoni’s team to provide negative reports.
“His attorney – who happens also to be my own from well before his representation of Baldoni – must be controlling our coverage,”
Kelly said.
“In addition, she suggested that I was getting paid by Baldoni or [Baldoni’s attorney Bryan] Freedman for my anti-Blake coverage, demanding to see all documents reflecting this agreement or payment structure.”
Kelly’s Response to Accusations and Legal Pushback
Kelly responded sharply to Lively’s insinuations, describing them as narcissistic and unfounded. She made clear that her opinions about Lively were formed independently and not under any financial influence of Baldoni’s legal team.
“This is how narcissistic this woman is. She actually thinks I needed to get paid by Baldoni’s team to say negative things about her,”
Kelly stated.
“Newsflash, Blake: I came to those conclusions totally organically. Don’t give your power away, sweetheart – it was you, all you, who made me unable to stand you. No man had anything to do with it.”
Kelly also asserted that her team did not provide any materials demanded by Lively’s subpoena and emphasized preserving journalistic integrity and confidentiality. She claimed victory over the subpoena, saying Lively has missed the deadline to continue pursuing this harassment.
“We fought her subpoena and won – she backed down and has now missed the deadline to pursue her harassment of me and my team any further,”
Kelly boasted, praising her team’s extremely fair, thorough, and factual reporting methods.
“We gave her absolutely nothing. Not one document, not one record, not one communication. In no world would I ever, ever allow my team’s – or my – communications with each other or with our sources to be turned over to a third party and certainly not to this nitwit. She has zero right to nose around in how I gather news or in how my team and I prepare for any show we do.”
Allegations of Intimidation and Public Harassment
Before concluding her remarks, Kelly criticized the intimidation tactics she associates with Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. She depicted both as using their status to harass those who speak negatively about Lively online.
“These two Hollywood mega millionaires think nothing of harassing powerless people on social media who have the temerity to write or speak negatively about Queen Blake,”
Kelly said.
“Remember that the next time you see Ryan Reynolds trying to pawn himself off as the nice guy … he’s a bully, too.”
Background of the Legal Dispute Between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni
The legal tensions stem from a sexual harassment lawsuit Lively filed against Justin Baldoni in December 2024. Lively accused the filmmaker of causing her significant emotional distress during the production of It Ends With Us. In June 2025, a judge dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million defamation countersuit against Lively. Their legal battle is set to continue in court on March 9, 2026.
In response to Kelly’s claims, a spokesperson for Blake Lively refuted the assertion that Lively subpoenaed Kelly. The spokesperson emphasized ongoing discovery efforts intended to substantiate Lively’s allegations of retaliation by Baldoni’s camp and related parties.
“At no point in this litigation has Ms. Lively served a subpoena on Megyn Kelly,”
the spokesperson clarified.
“Ms. Lively is continuing to pursue discovery in order to prove her case that Justin Baldoni, Jed Wallace, Melissa Nathan and the Wayfarer Parties retaliated against her for speaking up against the harassment she and others experienced on set, as alleged in her complaint. Seeking evidence through discovery is a normal part of the litigation process and is in addition to overwhelming amount of evidence already compiled in the form of Melissa Nathan’s own text messages, the recently exposed Katie Case email describing Jed Wallace’s services, as well as the invoices showing he was paid for those services, and Baldoni’s own requests on what he wants his team to do.”
Implications of the Dispute for Media Relations and Legal Proceedings
This dispute highlights the complex tensions between prominent figures in Hollywood and the journalists covering their legal controversies. The Blake Lively subpoena dispute underscores challenges related to freedom of speech, journalistic confidentiality, and aggressive legal tactics in high-profile cases. Megyn Kelly’s successful resistance against the subpoena may set precedent on how far parties can go to compel media professionals to disclose private sources during litigation.
With the court date approaching in 2026, the unfolding legal battle between Lively and Baldoni is likely to attract further public scrutiny, potentially influencing how media outlets handle coverage of such disputes and how celebrities engage legally with critics and reporters. Kelly’s outspoken defense of journalistic independence adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing saga.
