Owens said she would never “accept payment to say something that I don’t believe in” after being subpoenaed in the lawsuit between Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Jason Davis/Getty; Jeff Spicer/Getty
Candace Owens on the set of ‘Candace’ on April 19, 2022; Blake Lively at an ‘It Ends With Us’ event in London on Aug. 8, 2024
Candace Owens is denying having any connection to the ongoing dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
The conservative commentator uploaded a 43-minute YouTube video on Tuesday addressing her subpoena in the legal battle between the It Ends With Us costars. TMZ reported that Owens and other media personalities were allegedly subpoenaed due to their negative-leaning coverage of Lively, which the Gossip Girl actress’ attorneys believe may be part of a smear campaign that Baldoni allegedly orchestrated to sour public opinion on her.
Owens said that she learned about the subpoena from TMZ, and said she was a “deer in the headlights” when the outlet contacted her for comment. She also claimed that she still had not officially received the subpoena at the time of recording the video.
Representatives for Lively did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly‘s request for comment.
The media personality did not deny that she has given Lively negative coverage (noting that she believes the Gossip Girl actress is “lying”), but said that “that doesn’t mean anything,” and proceeded to show the camera her text messages that mention Lively by name.
Owens only showed two messages — one that she sent in 2019, complimenting Lively’s ring, and another from August 2024 when she told her producer that her show should cover the actress’ awkward 2016 interview with Kjersti Flaa that resurfaced in the wake of the It Ends With Us controversy. Owens claimed that those are the only two messages she’d ever sent mentioning Lively by name before the actress filed her lawsuit in December 2024, which means she couldn’t have been part of Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign.
Nicole Rivelli/Sony Pictures Entertainment
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in ‘It Ends with Us’
“I am just so offended, more than anything, that someone would think that I would accept payment to say something that I don’t believe in, or that I would accept payment to say things without telling my followers that,” Owens said. “In fact, the argument that’s typically made in the press is that I can’t be controlled. That’s the problem with me, is that I don’t dance for money.”
Owens reiterated that she dislikes lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, but said that she came to that opinion on her own. “I truly looked at this lawsuit when it all came out in January, and I just thought that you were a bad person,” she said, addressing Lively. “Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I think you and Ryan are bad people. There is nobody involved, nobody has ever been involved in making me come to that conclusion.”
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Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni alleges that the It Ends With Us filmmaker sexually harassed her during the production of the film and subsequently orchestrated a smear campaign against her during the movie’s promotional campaign. Baldoni has denied the claims, and filed a countersuit against Lively alleging defamation. That countersuit was dismissed by a judge in June, and Baldoni’s team opted against refiling the suit with amended claims.