Taylor Swift ‘leaker’ UNMASKED: Insider who exposed Blake Lively ‘threat’ is revealed… as someone you’d never expect

When Taylor Swift was unceremoniously subpoenaed as a witness in the case between her former pal Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni earlier this month, it seemed the billionaire pop princess would have her day in court.

But this week came a reprieve: Baldoni’s legal team – led by attorney Bryan Freedman – dramatically reneged, withdrawing the subpoena for Swift.

Far from a humiliation for Team Baldoni, however, the Daily Mail understands that the it was simply the case that they’d already got what they were after.

And that’s because, an unnamed insider in Swift’s inner circle allegedly provided documented evidence to Freedman and co detailing how Lively’s attorneys had ‘threatened to leak’ the actress’s private exchanges with Swift, in a failed attempt to coerce the singer into publicly siding with her against Baldoni.

Lively has denied the allegation – but that hasn’t stopped the fevered fan speculation over who exactly in Swift’s inner circle blew the whistle.

Former pals Swift and Lively, pictured together in February 2024, are said to have put their friendship on ice amid the actress’s legal battle with Baldoni

Now, in a truly sensational escalation in the public battle between the two women, an inside source has exclusively revealed to the Daily Mail that the ‘leaker’ is none other than Scott Swift – the singer’s 73-year-old father.

‘Scott Swift did not want his daughter to be dragged into this any further and he voluntarily gave up this information as part of a deal that would include [Baldoni’s team] withdrawing their subpoena for Taylor,’ the source explained.

The pop star’s doting dad – who has played a key role in building Swift’s billion-dollar empire as her financial advisor – came to his daughter’s rescue after she was allegedly blackmailed by Lively’s lawyers.

That ‘blackmail’ revelation appeared in a legal letter filed earlier this month by Baldoni’s lawyers, who alleged that Lively’s team had attempted to ‘coerce’ Swift to issue a public statement in support of her.

The filing claimed Lively’s lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, had contacted Swift’s team and demanded she ‘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.’

Swift’s team allegedly responded to Lively’s ‘inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication’ sent to Gottlieb, according to the letter.

‘It is those communications that [Baldoni’s team] seeks to obtain by way of subpoena, as they would evidence an attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation,’ the letter stated.

Scott seemingly didn’t take this alleged attempt to extort his 35-year-old daughter lightly, and decided to take matters into his own hands by cooperating with Baldoni and Bryan Freedman in order to protect Swift from any further legal involvement.

A source reveals to the Daily Mail that Swift’s father Scott Swift, left, struck a deal with Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman after Lively’s lawyers allegedly attempted to ‘coerce’ Swift into publicly supporting the actress

Scott Swift ‘voluntarily gave up this information as part of a deal that would include Wayfarer withdrawing their subpoena for Taylor,’ the source explained

The source said Scott ‘did not want his daughter to be dragged into this any further’

‘Plain and simple – they tried to extort Taylor by threatening to release private information about her so that she would support a narrative that she was not a part of,’ our source added.

In a statement to People magazine, Gottlieb described the suggestion that Lively’s lawyers had threatened Swift as ‘categorically false.’

Lively’s lawyers later filed a motion asking the court to strike the accusations from its docket as ‘baseless, unnecessary, improper and abusive’. The motion to dismiss the letter was granted.

However, this latest twist sheds further light on the collapse of Swift and Lively’s once-close friendship, which has gone cold amid the actress’s high-stakes lawsuit.

The drama began last December when Lively, 37, accused Baldoni, her It Ends With Us co-star and director, of sexual harassment and coordinating a smear campaign against her.

Baldoni, 41, hit back in January, with a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, of defamation. All parties have denied the allegations.

But contained in Baldoni’s filing were screenshots of alleged text messages, in which Lively regularly mentioned Swift by name.

In one now infamous and toe-curling exchange, Lively appeared to refer to herself as the character Khaleesi – from Game of Thrones – and to Swift as one of her ‘dragons’. 

Elsewhere in Baldoni’s filing is the claim that Swift was present at a meeting, convened by Lively at her New York penthouse to discuss It Ends With Us script changes.

Scott, affectionately nicknamed by fans as ‘Papa Swift,’ is often credited with paving the way for his billionaire daughter’s financial success

Andrea, 67, and Scott, 73, were married in 1989 but quietly split in 2011. They’re also parents to 33-year-old son Austin Swift

Sources close to Swift insisted the singer had no knowledge of the meeting and simply turned up to find it underway.

Nonetheless, the whole furore reportedly left Swift – who is godmother to Lively’s three daughters – feeling ‘exploited’ and ‘used’ by her pal of ten years.

Earlier this month, things the worsened when Swift officially subpoenaed as a witness to the upcoming trial, which is scheduled for March next year. 

At the time, a spokesperson for the singer fired back: ‘Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release.’

This week, the subpoena was withdrawn – and all thanks to the man fans affectionately know as ‘Papa Swift’.

Scott, a former stockbroker and financial advisor for Merrill Lynch, has long been credited as paving the way for his daughter’s financial success.

A disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission lists him as linked to 10 companies affiliated with his daughter, according to Bloomberg. 

Last year, he was accused of assaulting a photographer who was ‘waiting’ for Swift’s arrival off a luxury yacht in Sydney, following the Australian leg of her Eras Tour.

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia at the time, a rep for Swift described the photographers as ‘aggressive’ and her father later avoided charges.

Scott isn’t the only member of Swift’s inner circle to defend the pop star amid the legal drama.

Her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, has recently unfollowed Ryan Reynolds on Instagram. While supermodel Gigi Hadid, another of Swift’s closest friends, has reportedly ‘iced out’ Lively in solidarity.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Taylor and Scott Swift for comment.