Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni remain deep in a legal battle, following the release of embattled 2024 box office hit, It Ends With Us.
Lively, 37, took legal action against her director and co-star, Justin Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of the Colleen Hoover adaptation, and for allegedly coordinating a smear campaign against her. Baldoni, 41, denied the allegations, and is counter-suing for $400 million in defamation, civil extortion and invasion of privacy.
As the case remains ongoing, with a trial for Lively v Wayfarer Studios officially set for March 2026, the drama has escalated - most recently with Lively's longtime friend Taylor Swift implicated in the case by Baldoni’s team for being one of her "most trusted partners."
Swift was subpoenaed as a witness and summoned to court to give information as part of the ongoing legal battle - a move that was criticised by both Swift and Lively’s representatives as "tabloid clickbait" to detract from "the facts of the case".
This week, Swift's subpoena and court summons were officially withdrawn following objections from her team that they amounted to an "unwarranted fishing expedition", per Variety.
Lively's team has spoken out in support of the subpoena's withdrawal, confirming that they were "pleased" with the result.
"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 announced in a statement.
"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. 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."
We will continue to update this story.
