Taylor Swift has reportedly abandoned ship amid Blake Lively’s legal battle with her co-star, Justin Baldoni. To the uninformed, Lively has been engaged in an intense legal battle with the actor and director for a few months now.
Blake and Justin got acquainted while working on the sets of the 2024 movie It Ends With Us. Baldoni who is the founder of Wayfarer Studios also served as the director of the movie.
The actress who is married to Ryan Reynolds decided to sue her co-star for sexual harassment in December 2024. Along with the sexual harassment allegations, Blake further claimed that Justin tried to “destroy” her reputation.
Amando cada detalhe! ❤️🩹🥺
Blake Lively e Justin Baldoni filmando ‘É Assim Que Acaba’, hoje em Nova Jersey. pic.twitter.com/Hm555za66G
— Blake Lively Brasil (@BlakeLivelyBR) January 13, 2024
Ryan Reynolds also got involved in his wife’s legal battle when he decided to confront Baldoni for the “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior.”
Justin Baldoni filed for a $400 million counter-lawsuit against Blake Lively. The director is also suing Ryan Reynold’s and Blake’s publicist Leslie Sloane for damages. Baldoni is suing the three for civil extortion, defamation, and a slew of contract-related offenses.
He also filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times, claiming that the outlet “cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites.”
The NYT addressed the lawsuit and shared that they “plan to vigorously defend against” Baldoni’s claims. The outlet also denied all allegations and stated that the stories they wrote were “meticulously and responsibly reported.”
A recent report has now revealed that Taylor Swift, who has been a long-time friend to Blake, is taking a “step back” from their friendship. “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,” a source told the Daily Mail. “Which is far more than she ever needed to be,” the insider added.
blake lively’s and taylor swif’s friendship through the years
a 🧵 pic.twitter.com/EDcfKyEkLn
— isa ★ (@swftisa) May 30, 2024
Reports in the past have claimed that conflict between Blake and Baldoni arose when the actor-director decided to make changes to the already-written script. Baldoni’s counter-suit alleges that an A-list star pressured him to go with the changes made by Blake.
Newly surfaced legal documents detail texts between Justin and Blake mentioning Taylor Swift’s name several times. In the texts, Justin credits his co-star for making the scene “so much more fun and interesting.” He joked that the scene would “have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor.”
In response, Blake quipped by calling referring herself to Khaleesi, the Game of Thrones character played by Emilia Clarke. The actress also joked about Ryan and Taylor being her “dragons.”
The lawsuit that Baldoni filed claims that Blake and her team “tormented” his family and him. He even claimed that the actress forced him to sit out the premiere of their movie. The documents also allege that the actress tried to make a “scapegoat” out of her co-star.
The date for the Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively trial has been set to March 9, 2026. The attorneys of both actors are set to meet next week for pretrial publicity and attorney conduct according to Forbes.
