Taylor Swift has officially been dragged into the high-profile legal case between her longtime friend Blake Lively and It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni, after being served a subpoena by Baldoni’s lawyers this week.
Why was Taylor Swift subpoenaed?
Swift’s name popped up in Baldoni’s countersuit against Lively, who has accused him of sexual harassment and “disturbing” behaviour on set. Baldoni, who denies the allegations, claims Lively tried to use her friendship with Swift to pressure him into accepting script changes. In his legal filing, Baldoni describes a meeting at Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ New York penthouse, where he says Swift “began praising Lively’s script,” making him feel like he had to go along with her rewrites.
He also included an alleged text from Lively, where she called Swift and Reynolds her “dragons” (a Game of Thrones reference), suggesting they were backing her up in the dispute.
What does Taylor Swift’s team say?
Swift’s team is not having a bar of it. In a statement to PEOPLE and other outlets, her spokesperson made it clear that Taylor’s involvement with the film was basically non-existent, except for one thing: “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,” the spokesperson said.
They went on to explain: “The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, “My Tears Ricochet”.
You can see the use of her song here in the film’s trailer:
“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.”
What’s next?
The case, Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al., is set to go to trial in March 2026.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, did say earlier this year, “Anyone that reasonably has information that can provide evidence in this case is going to be deposed,” per The Advertiser, but Swift’s team and even some legal experts have questioned whether her involvement is relevant at all.
Meanwhile, Swift is reportedly “really hurt” by the situation, and sources say she didn’t take being dragged into it lightly.
The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni is ongoing, but for now, Swift is keen to keep her distance from the whole saga.
Lead image: Getty Images
