Taylor Swift may probably be taking the stand within the authorized battle between It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Swift, who’s shut buddies with Lively, had been talked about in reference to the continuing authorized case between the co-stars when textual content exchanges have been revealed that included her identify in Baldoni’s US$400-million defamation countersuit in opposition to Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds in January.
On May 9, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman issued a subpoena to Swift within the lawsuit involving the 2024 movie It Ends With Us.
A spokesperson for Swift mentioned the try to subpoena the pop star as a witness within the case is “designed” to make use of Swift’s “name to draw public interest.”
Swift’s group advised NBC News she wouldn’t have any data related to the authorized dispute and shouldn’t be concerned within the case.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, 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 traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history,” her spokesperson mentioned on May 9.
Swift’s group mentioned her solely involvement within the movie was licensing a tune, which was My Tears Ricochet.
“Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Lively’s authorized group launched an announcement after information of Swift’s potential involvement within the case unfold. Her group advised CNN that Baldoni and his authorized group “continue to turn a case of sexual harassment and retaliation into entertainment for the tabloids.”
“This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey’s Circus,” the spokesperson mentioned. “The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame and attack women’s rights and reputations.”
Baldoni sued his co-star Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48, for defamation in January. That lawsuit got here the identical day that Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel, alleging the paper labored with Lively to smear him.
In December 2024, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film in addition to a subsequent effort to “destroy” her popularity in a authorized grievance.
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In the grievance, Lively accused Baldoni and the studio of embarking on a “multi-tiered plan” to break her popularity following a gathering wherein she and Reynolds addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour” by Baldoni and a producer on the film.
The plan, the grievance mentioned, included a proposal to plant theories on on-line message boards, engineer a social media marketing campaign and place information tales important of Lively.
Since the authorized battle started, Baldoni’s authorized group has made textual content messages from Lively and Reynolds public on an internet site, titled The Lawsuit Info, created to assist defend him.
On the web site, revealed in early February, Baldoni, 41, additionally shared an amended grievance in his case in opposition to Lively, Reynolds, Lively’s PR agency and the New York Times, in addition to a 168-page doc, known as “Timeline of relevant events,” associated to the case and the manufacturing of the movie.
The timeline contains emails and textual content messages that have been allegedly despatched main as much as and in the course of the film’s filming.
Text messages between Lively and Baldoni, the place she seemingly alludes to Swift as “one of her dragons,” have been launched in February. Swift and Lively have been very shut buddies since 2015 and the pop star is the godmother of Lively’s kids.
In the textual content messages between the pair, Baldoni goes into element concerning the rooftop scene within the film that Lively had allegedly reworked. His legal professionals declare that the actor “felt obliged to text Lively to say that he had liked her pages and hadn’t needed Reynolds and her megacelebrity friend to pressure him.”
According to the swimsuit, Lively invited Baldoni to her penthouse in New York, the place Reynolds and a “megacelebrity friend” each praised Lively’s model of the rooftop scene.
“Also was working on rooftop scene today, I really love what you did. It really does help a lot,” Baldoni wrote within the textual content message. “Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor). You really are a talent across the board. Really excited nd [sic] grateful to do this together.”
In a textual content from Lively, in keeping with the swimsuit, she calls Reynolds and one other particular person, whose identify is redacted, “absolute titans as writers and storytellers outside of their primary gig.”
“They also know I’m not always as good at making sure I’m seen and utilized for fear of threatening egos, or fear of affecting the ease of the process. They don’t give a sh-t about that. And because of that, everyone listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm. So I guess I have to stop worrying about people liking me,” Lively allegedly wrote.
Lively goes on to match herself to Khaleesi, a Game of Thrones character performed by Emilia Clarke.
“If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. You will too, I can promise you,” Lively wrote.
Baldoni and Lively’s authorized trial is ready for March 2026 in New York City.
— With recordsdata from The Associated Press
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