Justin Baldoni is dragging Taylor Swift into his legal battle with Blake Lively.
The former It Ends With Us co-stars are in the midst of a legal battle, with the Gossip Girl alum suing the Jane the Virgin alum for sexual harassment, while he has in turn sued her for defamation.
The embattled actor has also accused the A Simple Favor actress of taking over his directorial responsibilities on set, and has roped in the "The Tortured Poets Department" singer as a witness in the forthcoming trial to prove it.
© GC ImagesWhat Justin claims
In his subpoena, Justin alleges that during a meeting at Blake and her husband Ryan Reynolds' New York City apartment, in the middle of filming, Taylor walked into a meeting in order to praise Blake's rewrites of the script.
He added that Ryan was there from the start "singing the praises of Blake's rewrite" of a scene, and that hours later Taylor also arrived at the apartment to "offer her two cents" and "began praising Lively's script," of which "Baldoni understood the subtext: he needed to comply with Lively's direction."
In a text exchange following the meeting, Justin told Blake that he liked her script changes and told her that he "would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor."
© InstagraTaylor's response
A representative for Taylor has since slammed Justin's attempts to rope her into the trial — which is tentatively set for 2026 — stating: "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."
Her team maintained: "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."
© Instagram"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."
Blake's response
Blake has since also slammed the subpoena, addressing both Justin and Steve Sarowitz, Justin's Wayfarer Studios co-founder. "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 the world over."
© GC ImagesIt followed: "This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey's Circus. 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."
