She may have been involved in her fair share of drama over the years, but Taylor Swift is reportedly not happy about being dragged into the legal mess that is pal Blake Lively’s ongoing court battle with her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
The singer was subpoenaed by Baldoni’s legal team on May 9, requiring her to appear as a witness. But a spokesperson for Swift has denied involvement outside of licensing a song for the soundtrack and claims the subpoena is just “tabloid clickbait”.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie,” the representative blasted. “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 and was travelling around the globe during 2023 and 2024.”
And while Lively’s attorneys agreed, accusing Baldoni, 41, and his legal team of continuing to turn the case into “entertainment for the tabloids”, the actress herself has contradicted Swift’s claims that she was not involved in any way. “I mean, honestly, [Taylor] was with me on this experience the whole time, all throughout it, so she really lived this with me,” Lively claimed in a Q&A session at a New York screening of the controversial drama.
Baldoni’s legal team has also since accused Lively’s attorney of threatening to release private texts – seemingly between Lively and Swift – if the singer did not publicly support the actress in her ongoing legal battle with her co-star. Lively’s team has insisted the new claims are “categorically false”.
On June 18, the judge ruled that Justin Baldoni can obtain messages between Lively and Swift that link to “It Ends With Us.”
“A motion or request may be, and in this case often has been, both a legitimate litigation tactic and an attempt to maneuver in the broader court of public opinion,” the judge wrote.
Being dragged into the drama hasn’t reportedly sat well with Swift, with insiders revealing it’s caused a rift between her and Lively, 37. “Taylor is very uncomfortable about being pulled into the lawsuit. It’s a huge thing now,” a source told Us Weekly. “Taylor and Blake have talked, but it’s strained. Their friendship is not what it used to be.”
Swift’s inclusion in court proceedings has added even more attention to the high-profile battle between Lively and Baldoni, which began in December when the actress filed a lawsuit against her co-star and director. A month later, Baldoni returned serve, suing Lively – as well as her husband Reynolds – for $623 million.
