Joshua Goldman
Joshua Goldman
min read · July 15, 2025 · Entertainment

Blake Lively's Legal Blitz: The Subpoena Storm Targeting Influencers

Blake Lively's legal team has launched a legal blitz against outspoken commentators on YouTube who have cast a critical lens against her in the It Ends With Us lawsuit - demanding their bank details, addresses and phone numbers

Blake Lively's Legal War: A Desperate Attempt to Silence Critics?

In a shocking move that has left many stunned, actress Blake Lively has reportedly issued a subpoena to Google, demanding sensitive information about at least 16 popular YouTubers who dare to criticize her. The list of targeted content creators includes none other than conservative firebrand Candace Owens, celebrity gossip hound Perez Hilton, and Andy Signore, host of YouTube channel Popcorned Planet.

The bombshell subpoenas, obtained by thescholarlynote.com, were sent to Google on July 3 and demand that the YouTubers turn over their email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, payment details, and login IP addresses. The sheer scope of the requests has left many in the YouTube community reeling.

Several mid-sized YouTube channels critical of Blake Lively's It Ends With Us suit have been hit with the demands via Google, which owns YouTube

"It's like they're trying to unmask all of us who spoke out against Blake," Signore revealed in an exclusive interview with thescholarlynote.com. "I won't let her bully me into silence. My lawyers and I will fight this subpoena tooth and nail."

But why would Lively go to such great lengths to stifle free speech? Some speculate that she's trying to prove a conspiracy theory about co-star Justin Baldoni allegedly paying content creators to smear her.

Lauren Neidigh, a small-time YouTuber with around 20,000 subscribers, is just one of the many creators who received the subpoena. She's determined to fight back and has even hired a lawyer to help her navigate the complex legal process.

Andy Signore, host of Popcorned Planet, believes Lively has more nefarious intentions with this newest move, claiming that Lively is alleged using the subpoena to unmask crew members who spoke to him anonymously in his upcoming documentary

"I think Blake Lively is trying to prove that people were paid off to cover up her case," Neidigh explained. "But I'm not afraid of her. I'll keep speaking my mind, even if it means going against the Hollywood machine."

Others, like Candace Owens, seem more than happy to oblige with the subpoena. In a video message to her 4.4 million followers, Owens celebrated receiving the legal demand.

"It feels like a graduation ceremony for me and all of my podcast listeners," she gushed. "This is meant to be a hit. It's supposed to make us look bad."

The notices were sent out to the YouTubers via their Google accounts and demanded 16 content creators to produce their private information - which initially led many to believe that it was a phishing scam

But many are not so thrilled about Lively's tactics. Katie Joy, host of YouTube channel Without A Crystal Ball, has offered to help smaller creators fight the subpoena.

"We're all on one subpoena and are strength in numbers," she posted on her Instagram account. "Both Kjersti and I have attorneys working on this and believe if we can do this all together we can not only save some of the smaller creators money but also show strength to the court that we are not paid bots or journalists working for Baldoni."

In the midst of this drama, Lively's attorney, Esra Hudson, has remained mum on the issue. But one thing is clear: Blake Lively will stop at nothing to protect her reputation and silence her critics.

Candace Owens was one of the more prominent YouTubers who was hit with the notice for her coverage and said she was 'elated' and 'honored' to receive it - but complained that TMZ had somehow gotten it before she had

As YouTuber Zack Peter so aptly put it, "Bring on the subpoenas because I have ZERO intention of letting this story go. I'm in it until the end."

And with that, the battle for free speech has begun. Stay tuned for further updates as this saga continues to unfold!

YouTuber Lauren Neidigh, 32, has covered Lively's alleged sexual harassment and smear campaign lawsuit on a small channel with around 20,000 subscribers. She told DailyMail.com that she plans to fight back against the subpoena

Signore said his lawyer contacted the office of Blake Lively’s attorney Hudson, and said they repeatedly assured him the subpoena email he received (pictured) wasn’t legitimate, As it turns out it  was Google that got the subpoena and sent out notices to the YouTubers

But he was able to confirm via Google help that it was indeed real. Signore told DailyMail.com that he wouldn't let Lively 'bully and intimidate independent journalists'

Esra Hudson, Lively's attorney at Manatt Phelps & Phillips, addressed as the firm that sent out the subpoena

YouTube also confirmed that the subpoena was real in a reply to Signore's post on July 11, writing it was 'legitimate and was sent as part of our user notice policy for legal matters'

Signore believes the subpoena is a tactic to extract information from him and potentially blacklist crew members who appeared in his documentary It Ends With Justice, where they spoke out against Lively with blurred faces and masks

Neidigh believes Lively is trying to prove a conspiracy that Baldoni paid creators to smear her or profit from covering the case, but noted she's a fan of Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds and used to watch Gossip Girl

He called Lively's legal move 'shady' and said 'they clearly will do anything to mess with us'

Popular YouTuber Zack Peter who covers Lively's case extensively slammed her for issuing the subpoena

He also stated he was perplexed by Lively's decision to not go after his channel, but maintained he wasn't 'easily scared'

Peter claimed that he believed Lively 'studied' Amber Heard's bombshell defamation case against her ex Johnny Depp and didn't want to suffer the same humiliation