Scooter Braun has been subpoenaed in Blake Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit over the movie It End With Us, with the actress seeking to find out what the music mogul knows about co-star Justin Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign against her.
Deadline first reported that Braun’s company, HYBE America, was notified of subpoenas on Tuesday (June 10), and that Lively plans to serve the document requests on Thursday (June 12). Billboard learned via a source familiar with the matter that the Lively camp subpoenaed both HYBE America and its CEO, Braun, personally.
Lively claims in her lawsuit that Baldoni enlisted crisis PR maven Melissa Nathan to seed negative press coverage of the actress in retaliation for her reporting sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us. Lively is now seeking any materials about this alleged smear campaign that are in the possession of Braun and HYBE America, which reportedly owns a controlling stake in Nathan’s company, The Agency Group PR.
Billboard reached out to reps for Lively, HYBE America, Braun and Baldoni for comment. Billboard also reached out to Nathan for comment.
Lively’s subpoena on Braun follows Baldoni’s attempt to serve his own document subpoena on Taylor Swift, a close friend of Lively and public opponent of Braun. Swift and Braun’s feud stems from Braun’s 2019 purchase of the pop superstar’s Big Machine masters, which she bought back last month.
Swift’s reps fiercely criticized her subpoena, saying she was not involved in It Ends With Us and that Baldoni was merely trying to “use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.” Baldoni ultimately dropped the Swift subpoena.
The messy It Ends With Us litigation began in December, when Lively sued Baldoni, claiming sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni quickly countersued, claiming the actress, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane had fabricated the claims and that Lively unfairly seized control over the movie he directed.
A federal judge dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit as legally deficient on Monday (June 9), allowing him to amend breach of contract claims but permanently tossing out his defamation allegations. The dispute is on track to go to trial in 2026.
