Taylor Swift subpoenaed in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni case

Taylor Swift, seen here in February in Los Angeles, has been subpoenaed in the case between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Taylor Swift has been subpoenaed in the case between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

Swift – a longtime friend of Lively’s – was first mentioned in connection to the ongoing legal dispute between Lively and her “It Ends with Us” director and costar when text exchanges were revealed to include the name “Taylor” as part of Baldoni’s US$400 million defamation countersuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds in January.

One of the text messages included in Baldoni’s suit appears to show an exchange between Baldoni and Lively about the script for the film: “I really love what you did. It really does help a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor),” Baldoni wrote with a wink emoji. “You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to do this together.”

A spokesperson for Swift on Friday told CNN, “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.”

“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,” the spokesperson added.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Baldoni for comment.

When reached for comment later on Friday, a spokesperson for Lively said Baldoni and his legal team “continue to turn a case of sexual harassment and retaliation into entertainment for the tabloids.”

“This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey’s Circus,” the spokesperson also said. “The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame and attack women’s rights and reputations.”

Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights Department in December, preceding a lawsuit that followed about a week later. She also claimed that Baldoni, along with his PR representatives, orchestrated a “social manipulation campaign” to hurt her reputation in the media while they were promoting “It Ends with Us,” their 2024 film at the centre of the dispute.

In an amended complaint filed in February, Lively alleged other women also raised claims about Baldoni’s behavior on set.

Baldoni has denied the allegations.

Along with Lively, Reynolds is named as a defendant in the $400 million defamation lawsuit Baldoni filed in January.

Baldoni has accused Reynolds of assisting Lively in “hijacking” his film and taking down his career. He claimed that Reynolds, who had no formal role on “It Ends With Us,” re-wrote a scene and made “unauthorized changes to the script in secret.” Baldoni also accused Reynolds of reprimanding him at the couple’s home in New York and alleged Reynolds made fun of him in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” mirroring the character Nicepool after Baldoni in an effort to mock him.

An attorney for Reynolds filed a request for him to be dropped as a defendant from Baldoni’s suit, claiming that his argument against Reynolds has no legal bounds and amounts to “hurt feelings.”

The trial in the case is set for March 2026.