" Exploiting Taylor Swift ’s renown was the original program . "
Taylor Swift’s subpoena has been withdrawn from the ongoingBlake Livelyand Justin Baldoni litigation.
Last December, BlakesuedherIt Ends with Uscostar and director, alleging sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign. In return, he denied the allegations and sued her, claiming defamation and extortion. The case is set to go to trial next year.
So, why the involvement from Taylor? Justin essentially tried to argue that Blake used her friendship with the superstar to pressure him into making editorial changes in the movie. Hence, earlier this month, Taylor wassubpoenaedas a witness.
Taylor’s team immediately shut down the allegations, saying in astatement, “Taylor Swiftnever 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, she did not even seeIt Ends With Usuntil weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”
The statement continued, “The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet.’ 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.”
However, Taylor’s name continued to be drawn into media attention on the case, as Justin’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, wrote aletterto the judge claiming that he’d heard that Blake’s team had attempted to blackmail the singer into supporting her by threatening to release old text messages.
A judge quickly struck the letter from the record, accusing the move of trying to “‘promote public scandal’ by advancing inflammatory accusations” and adding, “Counsel is advised that future misuse of the Court’s docket may be met with sanctions.”
This week, Lively’s teampushedfor Justin’s team to be sanctioned, requesting “attorneys’ fees and costs” and “a formal reprimand for the filing of baseless claims as a means of harassing Ms. Lively and gaining favor in the court of public opinion.” Justin’s team didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Fast-forward to yesterday, andVarietyreported that Taylor would no longer face a court summons as Justin’s team had withdrawn the subpoena. As per the publication, both Blake and Taylor’s lawyers had filed motions to previously dismiss the summons, which “sought communications between their respective legal teams.”
A spokesperson for Blake subsequentlysaid, “We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm…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.”
“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,” they further alleged. “Exploiting Taylor Swift’s celebrity was the original plan in Melissa Nathan’s scenario planning document, and it continues to this day. 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.”
The “scenario planning document” refers to the PR document that Blake’slegal complaintsays was sent to Justin, which planned for what might happen “should [Ms. Lively] and her team make her grievances public.” The document reportedly said, that it could “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."
As of right now, Justin’s team hasn’t issued a statement. BuzzFeed has reached out to Bryan Freedman for comment.
