Taylor Swift's Friendship With Blake Lively At a 'Breaking Point' — Pop Star Feels 'Exploited' By Ex-Best Pal After Being Dragged Into Her Justin Baldoni Legal Battle
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively's close friendship is all but over after the singer felt 'exploited' after being dragged into the Gossip Girl star's legal battle.
May 12 2025, Published 10:24 a.m. ET
Taylor Swift's friendship with Blake Lively is at risk of imploding after the singer was dragged into her legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the singer feels "exploited" by her former best pal and was left "devastated" when she was subpoenaed as a witness in the case last Friday
Close Bond In Tatters
Swift was named by Lively as one of her 'Dragons' but the feeling is not mutual now.
Swift, 35, previously counted Lively, 37, as one of her closest confidants and is godmother to her the Gossip Girl star's three daughters.
But things soured in December when Lively sued Baldoni, her co-star and director in the movie, It Ends With Us, accusing him of sexual harassment, as well as coordinating a smear campaign against her.
Then, when Baldoni, 41, countersued in January, accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, of defamation, Swift was dragged into the mix.
Lively asked Swift to be godmother to her three children.
Contained in Baldoni's filing were screenshots of text messages and emails that named Swift.
One particularly uncomfortable exchange allegedly shows Lively referring to herself as Khaleesi — a character in Games of Thrones — and to Swift as one of her "dragons."
Baldoni also claimed Swift was present at a pivotal meeting about the movie, held by Lively and Reynolds at their New York penthouse.
For her part, a source close to Swift has said that she simply arrived to find the meeting underway and had no involvement.
The ordeal reportedly left Swift feeling "used" by Lively, and she subsequently took a "step back" from their relationship.
Swift's Reps Call Out Star's 'Involvement'
Swift's team have attempted to distance herself with It Ends With Us.
But, while all parties deny the allegations against them, the ugly suggestion is that Swift had more involvement in the production of It Ends With Us than she would like people to know.
It has even been claimed that she personally approved the casting of actress Isabela Ferrer as the younger version of Lily Bloom (Lively's character).
Swift fervently denies this, and according to insiders: "Speculation that Taylor chose young Lily in casting is simply untrue. This subpoena delves into events and things that did not occur."
That chimes with a statement released on Friday, moments after Swift was subpoenaed as a witness.
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Baldoni claims Swift was present at a pivotal meeting about the movie.
A spokesperson for the singer said: "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, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release.
"The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, My Tears Ricochet (on the soundtrack)."
Despite Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, possibly being the one who subpoenaed Swift, she blames Lively for her unwanted involvement.
The source added: "Taylor has been aware that Blake has been exploiting her name for a while now, but this subpoena takes it to a whole new level."
In a statement relating to Friday's subpoena, a spokesperson for Lively said: "Mr Baldoni (continues) to turn a case of sexual harassment and retaliation into entertainment for the tabloids, going as far as suggesting that they sell tickets to a concert venue — Madison Square Garden — to witness Ms. Lively's deposition, to subpoenaing Taylor Swift, a woman who has given a voice to millions the world over."
