{"id":27327,"date":"2025-08-27T21:19:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T21:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/27327\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T21:19:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T21:19:07","slug":"why-self-represented-perez-hilton-is-optimistic-ahead-of-blake-lively-subpoena-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/27327\/","title":{"rendered":"Why self-represented Perez Hilton is ‘optimistic’ ahead of Blake Lively subpoena hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perez Hilton is \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d as he heads into his subpoena hearing in Blake Lively\u2019s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni<\/a> \u2014 representing himself.<\/p>\n

When the media personality, 47, realized he wouldn\u2019t be able to afford an attorney in the matter, he dove head-first into understanding the law, his rights and the case overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m in my Elle Woods era, or, like, Kim Kardashian studying for the bar,\u201d Hilton told Page Six in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, emphasizing that he \u201cdidn\u2019t want to\u201d handle the subpoena by himself.<\/p>\n

Perez Hilton is \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d as he heads into his subpoena hearing in Blake Lively\u2019s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni \u2014 representing himself.<\/p>\n

When the media personality realized he wouldn\u2019t be able to afford an attorney in the matter, he dove head-first into understanding the law, his rights and the case overall. Nolen Ryan nolenryanphotography.com<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people think I\u2019m doing this for content. Uh, no! If I would have had a lawyer offer to help me pro bono, I would have jumped at that chance. I could have still gotten a ton of content without having to represent myself,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Hilton, who founded the eponymous celebrity gossip website in 2004, was subpoenaed by Lively<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n

The actress, 38, believes Hilton colluded with her \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d co-star and director, Baldoni \u2014 whom she is suing for sexual harassment and retaliation<\/a> \u2014 by using his \u201csizable digital platform\u201d to launch a smear campaign against her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m in my Elle Woods era, or, like, Kim Kardashian studying for the bar,\u201d Hilton told Page Six in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, emphasizing that he \u201cdidn\u2019t want to\u201d handle the subpoena by himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I would have had a lawyer offer to help me pro bono, I would have jumped at that chance,\u201d he explained. Sarah Orbanic<\/p>\n

Hilton\u2019s first reaction was to laugh off the subpoena in an Instagram video because he \u201cthought it would be easy\u201d to navigate given his firm belief in his truth: \u201cNobody 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

He admitted he was \u201cwrong\u201d to not take the legal matter more seriously from the jump, confessing that the ordeal has been an \u201call-consuming\u201d distraction from both his job and his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wake up thinking about this. I\u2019m 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,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n

Hilton, who founded the eponymous celebrity gossip website in 2004, was subpoenaed by Lively last month. GC Images<\/p>\n

The actress believes Hilton colluded with her \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d co-star and director, Baldoni \u2014 whom she is suing for sexual harassment and retaliation \u2014 by using his \u201csizable digital platform\u201d to launch a smear campaign against her. Christopher Peterson \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a lawyer would have volunteered to help me pro bono for free, I would have absolutely taken them up on that. \u2026 And I have the same lawyer as Justin Baldoni, Bryan Freedman, but I have not retained him to help me with regards to the subpoena because I know how expensive he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton noted that he is \u201cnot being sued\u201d and claimed he \u201cdid nothing wrong,\u201d calling the subpoena \u201cburdensome,\u201d \u201ctoo broad\u201d and threatening to his \u201cjournalistic sources and work product\u201d as well as his \u201cprivileged and protected information.\u201d<\/p>\n

After he filed a motion to quash, Lively filed a cross-motion to compel<\/a>, arguing that Hilton does not \u201chold himself out as operating as an independent journalist, nor does he purport to follow any of the tenets of independent journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton\u2019s first reaction to was to laugh off the subpoena in an Instagram video because he \u201cthought it would be easy\u201d to navigate. Instagram\/@theperezhilton<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody 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.,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n

However, according to Hilton, \u201cthat\u2019s wrong\u201d because digital journalists are \u201centitled to the same protections and privileges as traditional journalists.\u201d He said, \u201cI believe that that is a misrepresentation of the law, and that\u2019s what I will argue in court this Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked his feelings ahead of the hearing, which will take place in Las Vegas, where he lives, Hilton replied, \u201cExhaustion [and] relief that this is going to eventually be over.\u201d<\/p>\n

He made sure to add, \u201cAnd cautious optimism and tempered confidence. I\u2019m proud of all the work I\u2019ve put into this, of the dozens of hours that I have spent studying the law.\u00a0I have done all that I can leading up to Thursday. And that\u2019s all that you can do \u2014 your best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton called the subpoena \u201cburdensome,\u201d \u201ctoo broad\u201d and threatening to his \u201cjournalistic sources and work product\u201d as well as his \u201cprivileged and protected information.\u201d Nancy Rivera \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Even though Hilton is \u201ccautiously optimistic that the law is on [his] side and it should be easy for this judge to grant [his] motion to quash in full,\u201d he acknowledged that \u201canything can happen,\u201d especially since Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, have endless funds for top-notch legal representation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really feels like a case of a real-life David vs. Goliath. David being Justin Baldoni \u2014 and in this instance, me \u2014 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,\u201d Hilton alleged.<\/p>\n

According to the entertainment reporter, Lively is the one who mistreated Baldoni, whose countersuit for defamation and extortion got tossed out in June<\/a> \u201conly because of technicalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilton told us, \u201cI believe Blake Lively misrepresented what happened. I\u2019ll take it a step further: I believe she lied. I\u2019ll take it a step further: I believe she bullied and harassed Justin Baldoni based on everything that I have read and seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked his feelings ahead of the hearing, which will take place in Las Vegas, where he lives, Hilton replied, \u201cExhaustion [and] relief that this is going to eventually be over. And cautious optimism and tempered confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe she bullied and harassed Justin Baldoni based on everything that I have read and seen,\u201d Hilton alleged, stressing that he is not \u201cTeam Baldoni\u201d but rather \u201cTeam The Truth.\u201d Nancy Rivera \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cI didn\u2019t need any talking points. I didn\u2019t need anyone to help me form my own opinion. She doesn\u2019t want to believe that it was organic, but it was. And that inability to accept \u2014 \u2018maybe people are not liking me because the things I\u2019ve said or because of what I\u2019ve filed in the courts\u2019 \u2014 that inability is what has led us to this point now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed, however, that he is \u201cnot Team Baldoni\u201d but rather \u201cTeam The Truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

In spite of the stress he\u2019s been under, Hilton is grateful to the \u201cGossip\u201d Girl\u201d star.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank Blake Lively and her lawyers,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause 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 and my job as a journalist.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Perez Hilton is \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d as he heads into his subpoena hearing in Blake Lively\u2019s lawsuit against Justin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[8150,434,4703,7998,22210,2110,18,117,4500,19,17,8149,327,22211],"class_list":{"0":"post-27327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-blake-lively","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-celebrity-feuds","11":"tag-celebrity-interviews","12":"tag-celebrity-lawsuits","13":"tag-celebrity-news","14":"tag-eire","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-exclusive","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-justin-baldoni","20":"tag-movies","21":"tag-perez-hilton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}