Shake That Subpoena Off: Taylor Swift Probe Dropped By Justin Baldoni In Blake Lively Battle's Latest Twist
BREAKING ….Caught in the blast radius of multiple multi-million dollar lawsuits between Blake Lively 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In an unexpected move, the It Ends With Us star and director has withdrawn the paperwork seeking information from Swift about what she knew about what went down between her pal Lively and Wayfarer Studios co-founder Baldoni on the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 request was dropped was because details that the Bryan Freedman-represented Baldoni and crew sought were already provided, I hear.
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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 more backlash from a previously served 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.
With all that, Baldoni's team may be mum today and Swift's people circumspect, but 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'We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm,' a Lively spokesperson told Deadline this morning.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 and a vast cast of co-defendants and countersuits, Lively and Baldoni are set to face off in federal court on March 9, 2026.
Last week saw a flurry of attorney accusations of strong-arming of Swift by Lively's side along with 'witness tampering and evidence spoliation,' plus protests by the Gossip Girl's crew of moves 'to launder scandalous and defamatory allegations about Ms. Lively and opposing counsel into the press.' It was a lot of thunder and not much lightning as Judge Lewis J. Liman reacted to a Lively team request and yanked the damning correspondence from Freedman and other Baldoni lawyers out of the court docket.
'The Letter is improper and must be stricken,' ordered Judge Liman in response to a motion by Lively's side filed mere hours after Freedman's letter. 'It is irrelevant to any issue before this Court and does not request any action from this Court,' he added, noting that Swift's Venables LLP counsel were fighting the subpoena in DC court.
The reference by the Lively spokesperson Thursday 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 Deadpool star 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.
With all the drama and stakes at play in what is a $400 million and growing legal action on many fronts, don't expect this withdrawal of a subpoena to be the last you hear of Ms. Swift in this matter. By a long shot.
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