Taylor Swift has been subpoenaed as a witness in the ongoing legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
Baldoni and Lively are involved in several legal actions related to her claim that she was sexually harassed by the director during production of their film It Ends With Us, and his claim that she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, attempted to destroy his career.
In a statement to People, a spokesperson for Swift said the singer’s only connection to the film was that her song “My Tears Ricochet” was used on the soundtrack.
The spokesperson continued: “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 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.”
In a statement to The Independent yesterday, before news of Swift’s subpoena had broken, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman argued that Lively had used her her celebrity contacts to leverage public opinion in her favor, and pushed back at Reynolds’ attempts to extricate himself from the legal action.
“Although obviously uncomfortable for the Lively parties, the truth is not a distraction. The truth has been clearly shown through unedited receipts, documents and real life footage. More to come,” said Freedman.
He continued: “Blake was the one who brought her high profile friends into this situation without concern for their own personal or public backlash. As the truth shows, she used her Dragons to manipulate Justin at every turn.
“Ryan’s involvement is very well documented and we continue to discover more intentional misconduct. Was Disney actually complicit in Ryan using shareholder revenues to further a personal grudge? I would be surprised to learn that this type of corporate waste would not lead to much more exposure for those that have been complicit in affecting shareholder revenue.”
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At the end of last month, Marvel filed a legal request in the hope of removing itself from Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively.
Baldoni’s lawyers requested in January that Marvel and Disney retain “any and all documents relating to the development of the ‘Nicepool’ character” as well as “communications relating to the development, writing, and filming of storylines and scenes featuring ‘Nicepool.’”
Baldoni’s representatives believe the Deadpool & Wolverine character was created by the film’s star Reynolds to mock him, and asked the studio to preserve “all documents relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool.’”
They have opposed Marvel’s attempts to remove itself from the suit.
It was reported last month that Swift, as well as Reynolds’ friend and co-star Hugh Jackman, could be subpoenaed in the ongoing legal battle.
Lawyers for both Lively and Baldoni have confirmed that their clients will testify at the trial, which is scheduled for March 2026. Cameras will not be allowed inside the courtroom.
