NEED TO KNOW
- After months of speculation, Taylor Swift has been subpoenaed by Justin Baldoni’s legal team in his ongoing case against Blake Lively
- Lively allegedly referred to Swift as one of her “dragons” in text messages included by Baldoni in a legal complaint
- The trial is scheduled to begin in March 2026
Taylor Swift’s team is hitting back after the pop superstar was subpoenaed by Justin Baldoni’s lawyers in his ongoing legal battle with Blake Lively.
“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,” a spokesperson for the singer, 35, tells PEOPLE in a statement, referencing Swift’s Eras Tour.
“The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘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.”
Over the past several months, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has been vocal about the possibility of deposing Swift. “Anyone that reasonably has information that can provide evidence in this case is going to be deposed,” he previously told TMZ, adding that it would be a “game time decision.”
Swift — who is a longtime friend of Lively, 37, and her husband Ryan Reynolds — was first dragged into the legal drama when the actress referred to her friend as one of her “dragons” in an alleged text exchange included in a complaint Baldoni filed in January.
The Jane the Virgin star, 41, claimed in the complaint that Lively, who compared herself to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones in the alleged texts, had utilized Swift to pressure him into accepting rewrites Lively was pushing for.
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Baldoni also described an alleged meeting at Lively and Reynolds’ penthouse where Swift “began praising Lively’s script.”
“Baldoni understood the subtext: he needed to comply with Lively direction,” Baldoni claimed in the complaint.
Last month a source told PEOPLE Swift was “really hurt” by the situation and that “it wasn’t something she took lightly.”
Lively first sued Baldoni in December, accusing him of sexual harassment, “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on set and a retaliatory smear campaign. Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a countersuit the following month alleging defamation and extortion against Lively, Reynolds and their publicity team.
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