Taylor Swift is longer in danger of being called as a witness in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal war as the actor’s team withdrew a subpoena for the singer, DailyMail.com can confirm.
Earlier this month, Swift, 35, whose song My Tears Ricochet features in movie It Ends With Us, was sent legal notice by Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman as a witness – leading to a blistering response from the singer’s management.
The court letter also revealed the actress allegedly tried to coerce Swift into publicly siding with her by threatening to leak years’ worth of private text messages.
Baldoni has now withdrawn the paperwork seeking information from Swift about what she knew about former friend Lively’s war with the actor – with an insider revealing the reason for the drastic move.
They said: ‘Justin Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman dropped the request for the subpoena and the reason for doing this is very simple, They got exactly what they were seeking.
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During a Q&A session at a New York screening of their controversial drama, which explores a romantic relationship marred by domestic violence , last year, the Gossip Girl star praised her longtime pal multiple times
‘Sending a subpoena to Taylor and Taylor’s response has provided Baldoni’s team with everything that they needed. Taylor stated that she was not involved at all, and this is in stark contrast to what Lively has said.
‘Taylor’s lack of involvement proves that Blake lied about several very important details to this case. Furthermore, the court now has information that is documented to show that Blake’s attorney’s did, in fact, threaten to leak Taylor’s private texts. This is backed up by evidence.
‘Taylor was always considered to be the smoking gun in this, and everyone is extremely pleased with the end results and the information it yielded. They got exactly what they were hoping for and much more.’
Lively’s spokesman said in a statement to Deadline: ‘We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm.
‘We supported the efforts of Taylor’s team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas directed to her counsel and we will continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process.’
Swift’s rep told DailyMail.com when the original subpoena was issued: ‘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 rep also noted that the only involvement Swift had in the film was the use of her track, My Tears Ricochet, which was off of her 2020 album Folklore.
The statement concluded: ‘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.’
Earlier this month, Swift, 35, whose song My Tears Ricochet features in movie It Ends With Us, was sent legal notice by Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman as a witness – leading to a blistering response from the singer’s management
Swift is the godmother to Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s three eldest children: James, Inez, and Betty
Baldoni has now withdrawn the paperwork seeking information from Swift about what she knew about former friend Lively’s war with the actor – with an insider revealing the reason for the drastic move; Lively pictured in the 2024 film It Ends With Us
Meanwhile, Lively’s rep told People: ‘Mr. Baldoni, Mr. Sarowitz, and team continue to turn a case of sexual harassment and retaliation into entertainment for the tabloids… Going as far as suggesting that they sell tickets to a concert venue – Madison Square Garden – to witness Ms. Lively’s deposition, to subpoenaing Taylor Swift, a woman who has given a voice to millions all over the world.’
‘This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey’s Circus.’
The rep also added that, ‘The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame and attack women’s rights and reputations. Including in the past month seeking to strike down for all, a powerful California victims’ rights law, calling it “unconstitutional.”
‘The disturbing actions by a billionaire, men who made their careers as “female allies” and their team continue to show their true colors.’
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.
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’.
The ‘uncool and unnecessary’ description was reportedly the final straw for Swift who had never planned to be at the meeting, but arrived at Lively’s New York penthouse to find it was still ongoing.
‘For the time being she is taking a step back from Blake because she doesn’t want to get tangled in this more than she already has – which is far more than she ever needed to be,’ an insider told DailyMail.com.
‘Her friends also think that Blake’s “I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have dragons” text to Justin was uncool and unnecessary because she was essentially used as an intimidation tactic. She was referred to as some kind of pet or possession.
‘Taylor shouldn’t even be involved in this at all. She was only going over to visit Blake and Ryan with the understanding that the meeting would be over.’
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.
She was portrayed as a villain after descending into madness and turning to vengeance due to trauma and loss.
A second source said: ‘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.
Lively has been close friends with Swift since 2015; pictured in 2024 at the Super Bowl LVIII
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, which is from Taylor’s folklore album, 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.
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.
Baldoni claimed Lively threatened to ‘change her mind’ about reaching out to Swift to secure the use of her hit 2020 track My Tears Ricochet
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.
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, whose song My Tears Ricochet was featured in the soundtrack, 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.
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 her filing, the actress claimed a meeting was held at her home in January 2024 to address ‘a hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production’ and that both parties ‘discussed in detail the inappropriate conduct’ that Lively and other cast and crew experienced at the hands of Baldoni.
But in his suit, Baldoni claimed he was invited over with a Sony executive to discuss her rewrite of a rooftop scene when Reynolds ‘launched into enthusiastic praise for [Lively’s version]’. They were also joined by her ‘mega-celebrity friend to pressure him’.
While Baldoni did not name the famous pal he was referring to, he included screenshots of a later conversation with Lively, and one message showed him mentioning someone named ‘Taylor.’
It is during this exchange that Baldoni claims the actress joked that if he ever got ‘around to watching Game of Thrones’ that he would ‘appreciate that’ she is Khaleesi.
‘And like her, I happen to have a few dragons,’ she allegedly wrote. ‘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.’
He also claims Reynolds ‘aggressively’ accused him of making offensive comments as well as ‘fat shaming’ her.
It Ends with Us was a box-office hit, earning $351 million worldwide despite a $25 million budget.
