Taylor Swift has gone public with a new A-list pal after reportedly falling out with bestie Blake Lively.
Swift, 35, was spotted with Dakota Johnson for dinner at the Italian restaurant Via Carota in New York City on Thursday evening.
The pair made it a family outing with their brothers tagging along – Swift’s sibling Austin joined, as did Dakota’s brother Jesse.
Swift – who made a huge announcement the following day – sported a black floral print dress and hot red lipstick while Dakota donned an edgy all-black look.
Taylor’s latest alleged falling-out with Blake comes after DailyMail.com exclusively reported that the 37-year-old Gossip Girl star had threatened to leak embarrassing private text messages from her former bestie unless the songstress agreed to publicly back her in her ongoing feud with her It Ends With Us costar and director, Justin Baldoni.
Taylor Swift has gone public with a new A-list pal after reportedly falling out with bestie Blake Lively
Swift was even subpoenaed as a witness into the legal war by Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman, and her team issued a scorching response to the legal move as they insisted she ‘never set foot on the set’ of the film and only licensed a song for the film. The subpoena was subsequently withdrawn.
A source has since exclusively told DailyMail.com that the singer ‘is done’ with Lively after the private text drama emerged.
It would appear Swift is now strengthening her other friendships in light of the alleged rift.
She was seen heading to the celebrity hotspot exuding confidence, her hair slicked back into a high ponytail and her face all done up.
She carried a chic leather purse on her arm and strutted towards the eatery in Christian Louboutin high heels.
Dakota, meanwhile, looked chic from head-to-toe.
Seemingly after their dinner, Dakota was seen being walked out on the arm of a helpful man as she flashed a smile.
The friendship isn’t completely out of left field, with Taylor earning a mention in Dakota’s Saturday Night Live monologue last year where she referred to the songstress as ‘the most powerful person in America’ as she mocked President Donald Trump.
Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Swift was taking a step back from her friendship with Lively after feeling like she was used as an ‘intimidation tactic’ by the actress in a lawsuit she never wanted to be embroiled in.
Swift made an elegant arrival
The star cut a sophisticated figure in her black dress, sheer kitten heels, and silver statement necklace
Their brothers were also present – Dakota’s brother Jesse attended, L, as did Swift’s sibling Austin, R
A source has since exclusively told DailyMail.com that the singer ‘is done’ with Lively after the private text drama report emerged
The singer was dragged into the explosive legal feud between Lively and Baldoni when he claimed his costar used Swift to intimidate him at a meeting with Reynolds about edits she had made to a rooftop scene in their film, It Ends with Us.
In his $400 million lawsuit, filed in January, Baldoni said Swift showed up and made him feel like he ‘needed to comply with Blake’s direction for the script’.
Lively later appeared to threaten Baldoni by comparing herself to Game of Thrones character Khaleesi in a series of text messages in which she referred to Reynolds, 48, and her best friend as her ‘dragons’.
Khaleesi, also known as Daenerys Targaryen and Mother of Dragons, is one of the main characters in Game of Thrones, which aired between 2011 to 2019.
Swift’s brother wore all-black
A helpful man walked Dakota out as her brother followed
Swift looked splendid in her floral dress
A source previously told DailyMail.com: ‘Taylor has politely backed away from it all. She is conscious of her own image and hates that she was even mentioned.’
According to Baldoni’s lawsuit, Lively threatened to withhold approval of the film trailer if she did not get extra time working on a cut of the movie with her own personal editor.
He claimed in the suit that the actress threatened to ‘change her mind’ about reaching out to Swift to secure the use of her hit 2020 track My Tears Ricochet.
The track was eventually used in the trailer but Baldoni alleged that Lively tried to use her friendship with the singer to make sure her demands were met.
Taylor’s latest alleged falling-out with Blake comes after DailyMail.com exclusively reported that the 37-year-old Gossip Girl star had threatened to leak embarrassing private text messages from her former bestie unless the songstress agreed to publicly back the her in her ongoing feud with her It Ends With Us costar and director, Justin Baldoni
She appears to now be strengthening new friendships in light of her alleged falling out with Blake
The hitmaker wore Christian Louboutin heels for the occasion
An alleged text exchange with a Sony executive read: ‘Blake is calling Taylor to approve the song. She of course just reached out saying she is asking for time with [REDACTED] her editor. We know it was conditional on signing contract – but asking if you will reconsider – so [REDACTED] can release this trailer and Blake does not change her me re calling Taylor Swift.’
Baldoni noted that they agreed to her demands in order to move forward as planned. The exchange allegedly took place in May 2024.
Lively and Swift were last seen together in Rhode Island in August 2024. Before that, they pictured in October on a double date with Reynolds and Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, in Manhattan.
The outing came two months before she filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department in which she accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and creating a toxic environment on the set of It Ends with Us.
Their brothers joined in, making the evening a family affair
Swift literally turned heads as she approached the Italian eatery
Her gorgeous dressed was accessorized with a chain-adorned belt
She worked a winged slick of eyeliner and bold red lip
The songstress was spotted by a diner who posted her grand entrance to social media
Swift stunned diners at the restaurant
Johnson pictured earlier in the evening out celebrating her global ambassadorship with Roberto Coin
Swift and Lively pictured during happier times in their friendship in 2024
Swift got dragged into the It Ends With Us drama swirling between Lively and Baldoni
At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on her legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
Swift was then pulled into the roller coaster saga when Baldoni fired back with a stinging $400 million counter suit against Lively and Reynolds in which he accused the Hollywood couple of conspiring to trash his reputation. (The lawsuit also named the couple’s publicist Leslie Sloane as a defendant).
Baldoni, who is also suing the Times for defamation, claimed Lively hijacked the filming of the movie as he attempted to blow her allegations to smithereens.
In one of the latest twists, Lively allegedly threatened to leak embarrassing private texts from Swift unless the pop star agreed to publicly back the actress in her feud with Baldoni.
The explosive revelation appeared in a legal letter filed earlier this month by Baldoni’s lawyers, in response to Lively’s request to quash their subpoena to the singer.
The court filing alleges that the Gossip Girl alum had tried to pressure Swift to issue a public statement in support of her and urged her to delete text messages between them during her escalating legal battle with Baldoni, 41.
It Ends with Us was a box-office hit, earning $351 million worldwide despite a $25 million budget.
