Blake Lively's litigious year continues. The Gossip Girl actress and her attorneys claim she has suffered $161 million in damages due to the smear campaign launched against her during the It Ends With Us release. Blake alleges she lost at least $56.2 million in past and future earnings from acting, that her beauty brand, Blake Brown, lost $49 million, and her beverage company, Betty Buzz, lost $22 million. Aside from the monetary ramifications Blake has faced, some fans have also speculated that the It Ends With Us drama has impacted her friendship with Taylor Swift.
Blake and Taylor first met in 2015 and have been close ever since. But, reports of a strain in their relationship have flooded social media since Taylor was named in Blake's lawsuit against the It Ends With Us director, Justin Baldoni. The "False God" singer was also named in Blake's most recent lawsuit against Justin. While the only two that can dispel rumors that they are going through a rough patch are Blake and Taylor themselves, that doesn't stop the internet from jumping to conclusions. Here's everything HELLO! knows about the A-lister's friendship.
The early days of Blake and Taylor's friendship
The famous pair were first spotted together during Taylor's 1989 tour in Australia in 2015. Blake and the singer attended the Warner Bros. Movie World theme park in Queensland. A year later, the BFFS were seen in some iconic photos at Taylor's annual Fourth of July party at her Rhode Island abode with Taylor's then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston.
After the "All Too Well" singer faced backlash in 2016, she released her sixth studio album, Reputation. The eighth song on the album features the voice of Blake and Ryan Reynolds' daughter James. The actress and her husband were seen at the Reputation tour recording Taylor performing the song and Blake admitted that the clip of her doing was "true, unfiltered version of our terrible stage-parent pride" on Good Morning America.
Years of steady friendship
Over the next several years, Taylor and Blake were reliable and good friends. They celebrated holidays and birthdays together. Taylor is the godmother to Blake and Ryan's four children – James, 10, Inez, nine, Betty, six, and Olin, two. The "Invisible String" singer even name-dropped her godchildren on folklore. She named a song "Betty" which also featured James and Inez. During her Eras tour, Taylor addressed the audience saying: "I have to say that on folklore, some of my favorite characters are named James, Inez and Betty."
In 2022, Blake directed one of Taylor's music videos for the song "I Bet You Think About Me" and was nominated for a CMA Award. When Taylor started dating her now-fiancé Travis Kelce, Blake tagged along to Kansas City Chiefs games, cheering from the private boxes with her friend. In 2024, Taylor brought Blake to the Super Bowl, where the actress wore a red tracksuit and tight curls.
Signs of strain in their relationship
Blake's film, It Ends With Us, premiered in August 2024. The movie, which is based on the Colleen Hoover book with the same name, featured one of Taylor's songs – "my tears ricochet." During the promotional tour for the film, rumors of a major rift between Blake and Justin were abound. In December 2024, Blake sued Justin for sexual harassment and claimed that he engaged in "social manipulation" to "destroy" her reputation.
Amidst it all, Taylor was subpoenaed because Justin alleged Blake tried to use the singer's influence for leverage in the movie's production. In court filings, Justin's team alleged that Blake referred to herself as "Khaleesi" in a text and described Taylor and Ryan as her "dragons."“I’m Khaleesi,” she allegedly texted Justin. "And like her, I happen to have a few dragons…those gorgeous monsters of mine."
Taylor's team quickly shot down any allegations that she was involved in the film aside from licensing her song. In a statement to People, they clarified that she "never set foot on the set of this movie," had no creative input, and didn't see the final cut until it was publicly released. Over a year later, when Taylor announced the track list for her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, the singer sparked speculation that "Ruin the Friendship" was possibly about Blake.
Now that the album's been released, that speculation seems fruitless. The 10th song on the album, "Cancelled," is widely believed to be about Blake. In it, Taylor sings: "Good thing I like my friends cancelled, I like 'em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal like my whiskey sour and poison thorny flowers." Fans think the lyrics reference Blake's former Gucci fragrance ads, her Betty Buzz drinks, and her character, Lily Bloom.