Why Perez Hilton is ‘optimistic’ ahead of Blake Lively subpoena: Page Six EXCLUSIVE

Why Perez Hilton is ‘optimistic’ ahead of Blake Lively subpoena: Page Six EXCLUSIVE

So, you were subpoenaed by Blake Lively’s attorneys in her ongoing legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Beldoni. Her team believes that you used your sizable digital platform to help Justin’s team orchestrate some sort of smear campaign against her. I feel like I’m in my L. Woods era or like Kim Kardashian, you know, studying for the bar. Over the last two months since I’ve been handling with this this subpoena situation by myself, which I didn’t want to. Some people think um I’m doing this for content. No. If I would have had a lawyer offer to help me pro bono, I would have I would have jumped at that chance. I could have still gotten a ton of content without having to represent myself. I can admit when I’m wrong. Okay. Initially, I was excited about all of this because I thought, “Oh, it would be easy.” Mhm. It has not been easy. Let me tell you, it has been such a distraction from my job, from my kids. It’s been all consuming. I wake up thinking about this. I’m in the shower thinking about this, playing out all the scenarios, how I will respond, what my next move should be, anticipating their next move. If a lawyer would have volunteered to help me pro bono for free, I would have absolutely taken them up on that. But nobody did. And I have the same lawyer as Justin Baldoni, Brian Freriedman. But I have not retained him to help me with regards to this subpoena because I know how expensive he is and I know how expensive all of the lawyers at his firm are. If I would have had Freriedman Titleman help me at a minimum by now, you know how much it would have cost me? At a minimum $50,000 for a subpoena. I’m not being sued. I did nothing wrong and the subpoena is burdensome. It is too broad and it is seeking my journalistic sources and work product. Yeah. Which is all privileged and protected information. And that’s why I’m so thankful that page six is giving me the opportunity to talk about this because it’s bigger than me. Yeah. This is something that could potentially depending on how the judge rules affect all digital journalists. Absolutely. And more and more we are seeing former traditional journalists pivot to digital only like Megan Kelly, Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon, the list goes on and on. They used to be associated with with the legacy media and now they’re digital only. Blake Lively is arguing in her motion to compel that those journalists like me are not entitled to the same protections and privileges as a traditional journalist. And that’s wrong. I believe that that is a misrepresentation of the law and that’s what I will argue in court this Thursday. Yeah. I I know that you have this this hearing coming up on Thursday. Um, and I know you did mention that your initial reaction when you received the subpoena was to laugh it off. Not even laugh, I danced. I made a silly dance video about it. I was excited and until it started to take over my life and I realized, oh my god, I’m not able to be as productive at work doing my day job. Yeah. Because this is taking up so much of my time. So, it’s not so much fear or worry. It’s that this is allconsuming, very stressful. Oh yeah. Overwhelming. Okay. All of that. All of that. Are those the feelings that you have going into Thursday or are you feeling confident? Are you feeling What’s kind of going on in your head? The main feelings are exhaustion, relief that after this hearing, which is basically a trial. I know it’s called a hearing, but it’s really a trial because from my understanding, the most likely scenario is that the judge will rule on Thursday. So, exhaustion, relief that this is going to eventually be over and cautious optimism and tempered confidence. I’m proud of all the work I’ve put into this, of the dozens of hours that I have spent studying the law. Wow. I have done all that I can leading up to Thursday and that’s all that you can do. Your best. I’ve really done my best and it’s Vegas. Anything can happen. Even though I’m cautiously optimistic that the law is on my side and it should be easy for this judge to grant my motion to quash in full, anything can happen. And actually, it might surprise you. I want to thank Blake Lively and her lawyers. Because of them, I am now stronger and smarter. I know a lot more about the legal system, the courts, the laws, and I will use this to be an even better reporter going forward, and it will help me end my job as a journalist. So, um, in my response, these all have names, right? I filed my motion to quash, then she responded with a response and a cross motion to compel and also slid in there the request for a transfer. Then I responded to her cross motion to compel. And in that response, in the spirit of cooperation, I felt that it was important to explicitly tell the judge here in Nevada because Miss Blake Lively’s lawyers did not want to meet and confer with me, which is usually where these kinds of negotiations are had. I told the judge, “Your honor, I am happy to volunteer a sworn declaration, a sworn affidavit, to be deposed under oath, or to testify at trial under oath while protecting my privileged sources and protecting my privileged work product and communications. I am happy to under oath an affidavit, as I told you, testify. Nobody told me to write anything negative about her. Nobody paid me to write anything negative about her. Nobody gave me talking points, etc., etc., etc. Yeah. You know, to me, it really feels like a case of a real life David versus Goliath. Mhm. David being Justin Baldoni and in this instance me and Goliath being Blake Lively and her A-list, very powerful, very famous, very rich husband using their power and money to retaliate against Justin Baldoni and retaliate against me. And then there’s also the topic of um you know sexual harassment, especially in the postmeto world. there’s the uh element of, you know, the curtain being lifted. These kinds of disputes and disagreements and butdding heads are actually pretty common. Yeah. We just don’t see it. You know, like actors disagree with their directors and actors don’t get along with other actors, but it’s rare to have it get to this point. And actually like I’m not team Baldoni. I’m team the truth.

Perez Hilton is “cautiously optimistic” as he heads into his subpoena hearing in Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni — representing himself.

When the media personality, 47, realized he wouldn’t be able to afford an attorney in the matter, he dove head-first into understanding the law, his rights and the case overall.

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