BREAKING ….Caught in the blast radius of multiple multi-million dollar lawsuits between Blake Livley and Justin Baldoni over accusations of sexual harassment and an online smear campaign, Taylor Swift can now shake off that pesky subpoena.
In an unexpected move, the It Ends With Us star and director has withdrawn the paperwork seeking information from Swift about what she knew about what went down between her pal Lively and Wayfarer Studios co-founder Baldoni on the domestic violence themed film. Part of the reason the summons was dropped was because details that the Bryan Freedman represented Baldoni and crew sought were provided, I hear.
Having said that, reps for Baldoni, his Wayfarer Studios, its execs and publicists did not respond Thursday to request for comment on the withdrawal of the high-profile subpoena against the Fortnight superstar and her lawyer J. Douglas Baldridge. Team Swift did respond, with a polite “no comment.”
Swift is a longtime friend to Lively and even the godmother to one of her and Ryan Reynolds children. Even before news of a Swift subpoena leaked out on May 14, the IEWU soundtrack contributor had already made several cameos in various lawsuits and countersuits ever since Lively on December 20 filed her sexual harassment and retaliation complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department.
However, Lively’s side certainly had something to say:
“We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm,” a Lively spokesperson told Deadline this morning.
“We supported the efforts of Taylor’s team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas directed to her counsel and we will continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process,” they also noted.
And of course, this being the Lively vs Baldoni case, there was always more to say.
“The Baldoni and Wayfarer team have tried to put Taylor Swift, a woman who has been an inspiration for tens of millions across the globe, at the center of this case since day one,” the Lively spokesperson said of their client’s close close pal who has popped up in more than one filing or two since this all started with the Another Simple Favor actress’ CRD complaint in late 2024. “Exploiting Taylor Swift’s celebrity was the original plan in Melissa Nathan’s scenario planning document, and it continues to this day,” the statement adds, with a swipe at Baldoni’s crisis management PR chief. “Faced with having to justify themselves in federal court, they folded.”
“At some point they will run out of distractions from the actual claims of sexual harassment and retaliation they are facing.”
With no settlement on the horizon, Lively and Baldoni are set to face off in federal court on March 9, 2026.
The reference by the Lively spokesperson to publicist Nathan, who along with ex-Jonesworks VP Jennifer Abel, directed Baldoni’s public face, is noteworthy here, and clearly very personal. Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ team have claimed that Nathan and Abel were the paid brains behind astroturfing social media effort to preemptively taint Lively before the actress went public with tales of her IEWU co-star’s alleged misconduct. Both Nathan and Abel have denied those allegations, essentially stating they didn’t need to attack Lively, the internet hated her all by itself.
However, a mention of Swift in a Nathan/Abel planning document now in the court docket, can’t be denied. “As part of this, our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in BL’s circle like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want,” Nathan wrote in August last year, around the time the Sony distributed IEWU was released.
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