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Justin Baldoni's chief lawyer Bryan Freedman recently mentioned that they will be taking a "game-time decision" on whether to depose Taylor Swift in his client's legal battle against Blake Lively. Swift is known to be a close friend of Lively for years and has been mentioned in the lawsuits pertaining to the case.
In an appearance on TMZ's Two Angry Men podcast dated February 5, Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, addressed the possibility of deposing Taylor Swift in their legal battle. He said:
"I don’t know if we’re going to depose Taylor Swift or not. I think that that’s gonna be probably a game-time decision. Anyone who reasonably has information that can provide evidence in this case is going to be deposed. I mean, for sure."
Swift has been mentioned in both Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's lawsuits against each other. However, the singer has yet to comment publicly on the matter.
In Baldoni's latest January 16 lawsuit, the actor reportedly alluded to Swift, and her name was also mentioned in the alleged text messages used as evidence in the documents.
The lawsuit alleged that Swift was present during one of Justin Baldoni's meetings with Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. The singer allegedly played a role in pressurizing Baldoni into accepting Lively's rewriting of certain scenes in their film It Ends With Us.
It is worth noting that Taylor Swift is the godmother to Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' daughters. Her track, My Tears Ricochet, from her 2020 album Folklore, was also a part of the soundtrack of It Ends With Us.
Why was Taylor Swift mentioned in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's lawsuits?
In Blake Lively's December 20 legal filing against Justin Baldoni, the actress mentioned her long-time friend, Taylor Swift, twice. This was also the first time the singer was dragged into Lively and Baldoni's legal battle.
In her complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department, Blake Lively alleged that Melissa Nathan, one of Baldoni's TAG PR publicists, wrote a document where she was planning a campaign to ruin Lively's reputation.
In her document, she mentioned Swift as a part of the actress's circle. Lively's complaint stated:
“The Scenario Planning document states that TAG could ‘also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in [Lively’s] circle like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want."
The second time the Grammy-winning singer was mentioned in the lawsuit was as a part of an alleged message from Melissa Nathan to another publicist, Jennifer Abel. The alleged texts were included by Blake Lively as evidence to prove Justin Baldoni indulged in a campaign to tarnish her reputation.
The alleged text claimed Lively has the support of Taylor Swift's fans, popularly known as 'Swifties.'
“We have seen the most innocuous issues turn giant due to socials or the hugest crisis have no effects on social whatsoever- you just cannot tell at this stage. But, [Lively] does have some of the [Swift] fanbase so we will be taking it extremely seriously," the alleged message read.
Swift's involvement did not end here, as the singer was once again mentioned by Justin Baldoni in his $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. According to Baldoni, Swift and Reynolds played a key role in pressuring him to accept one of Lively's rewritten scenes for It Ends With Us.
Justin Baldoni, who starred in and directed It Ends With Us, claimed in his lawsuit that Blake Lively asked him if he could rewrite a crucial scene in the film. The scene featured the first meeting of Lively and Baldoni's characters on a rooftop in the film.
However, Baldoni was not in favor of accepting the actress's rewrite of the scene as it was "dramatically different" from the original script. In retaliation, Blake Lively allegedly mentioned Taylor Swift as her "megacelebrity" friend who was not happy with his reluctance to accept Lively's version of the scene.
Further, Justin Baldoni was also pressurized by Swift and Reynolds to accept Lively's version in the couple's New York City penthouse.
Baldoni's lawsuit also included alleged texts from Blake Lively where she addressed Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds as her "dragons." She compared herself to the popular Game of Thrones character, Khaleesi (played by Emilia Clarke in the HBO series) who's protected by her dragons.
“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," the alleged text said.
Baldoni included follow-up texts that mentioned Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Swift by name and also alleged the "dragons" in the alleged text were them.
On January 31, Justin Baldoni's legal team filed more evidence where the actor claimed Lively had made a "veiled threat" to him to remove Swift's My Tears Ricochet from the It Ends With Us soundtrack if her "demands" were not met.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are set to meet for trial on March 9, 2026.
