Taylor Swift has been subpoenaed in the legal dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni that stems from their film, It Ends with Us.
The subpoena relates to the defamation lawsuit against Lively filed by Baldoni in January, which alleges that “The Eras Tour” pop star was involved in the film’s creative direction as Lively allegedly hijacked control of the title. According to the suit, Lively invited Baldoni to her penthouse while Swift was present to discuss creative ideas, after which Baldoni felt “pressured” to approve them by the presence of the “megacelebrity.”
The lawsuit also mentions that Lively referred to her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and a redacted name — possibly Swift — as her “dragons” (a reference to Game of Thrones’ Khaleesi), and praised both as “absolute titans as writers and storytellers outside of their primary gig.”
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In a statement to Variety, though, a spokesperson for Swift denied that she had any involvement with the film beyond licensing her song “My Tears Ricochet” to be used.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film,” the spokesperson said. “She did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”
Continuing, the spokesperson described the subpoena as a publicity stunt, saying “Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
The trial is set for March 2026 in the Southern District of New York, where courtroom proceedings are not permitted to be televised. Thus, Swift’s testimony, if it occurs, will not be televised.
The dispute between Lively and Baldoni emerged when the two were working together on the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us, and came to a head late last year when Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment. Since then, Baldoni has characterized a New York Times report about him as libel, and filed his $400 million defamation suit against Lively and Reynolds, who have both filed motions to dismiss.