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The Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni drama just took a wild turn. After weeks of speculation, news broke Friday that Taylor Swift has officially been subpoenaed to testify in the March 2026 trial. Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, is likely celebrating.
© Xavi Torrent/TAS24Swift is expected to take the stand as a witness, with many assuming her testimony will focus on Baldoni’s claims that Lively pressured him to give up creative control over a key scene in It Ends With Us.
One of the most viral elements of the story so far is Baldon's allegations that he was invited to Lively’s home, only to walk into what he describes as an ambush by Swift and Ryan Reynolds, who allegedly backed Lively.
He released text messages between him and Lively to back up his claims, which went viral. In the text messages, the 37-year-old referred to Swift and her husband as her dragons, comparing herself to Game of Thrones’ Khaleesi.
"If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really, we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. You will too, I can promise you," she wrote, per Entertainment Tonight.
Following news of the subpoena, a spokesperson for Swift issued a strongly worded statement to PEOPLE, firmly distancing her from the film: “Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie,” the rep said. “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," they said.
"In fact, she didn’t 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," they continued.
© Backgrid/The Grosby GroupThey clarified that Swift’s only link to the film was allowing her song "My Tears Ricochet" to be used.
And they didn’t hold back when it came to the timing of the subpoena, “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," they said.
Swift might be the first A-lister pulled into the case, but Baldoni’s legal team has made it clear that celebrity status won’t shield anyone from being subpoenaed. Just last month, Hugh Jackman’s name also began circulating in connection with the trial.
And for anyone hoping to watch the drama play out in real time à la Depp v. Heard - don’t count on it. The trial won’t be televised due to jurisdiction rules. Still, the chaos isn’t slowing down. After it was announced that Lively would be taking the stand, Baldoni’s attorneys made a sarcastic suggestion: that her testimony be live-streamed from Madison Square Garden with the proceeds donated to domestic violence survivors. Lively’s legal team was not amused.
How is Taylor and Blake's relationship?
© GC ImagesThough Swift is the godmother to Lively’s children and the two have been close for years, rumors of a rift have only grown louder. When the texts were first leaked, marking Swift's introduction to the drama, Daily Mail reported that the "Love Story" singer thought it was “uncool and unnecessary” of Lively to involve her.
But a source shut down the news with Page Six saying speculation that there was trouble in friendship paradise is "not true."
However, Lively was noticeably absent from this year’s Super Bowl, where Swift cheered on boyfriend Travis Kelce, and the two haven’t been seen together since the lawsuit went public. More fuel for the rumor mill: Kelce recently unfollowed Reynolds on Instagram.
