Featured Image Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty
Topics: Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity, Film and TV
Lucy Devine
Topics: Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity, Film and TV
Blake Lively has spoken out after news that Justin Baldoni has withdrawn his Taylor Swift subpoena, amidst the ongoing legal battle.
Earlier this month, the singer was dragged into the bitter lawsuit when it was revealed that Baldoni's legal team had subpoenaed Swift into the court case.
A subpoena is a formal written order that requires a person to appear before a court or other legal proceedings.
Swift's representative issued a statement to Page Six, claiming that the pop star was being used 'to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case'.
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They said: “[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, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history."
Meanwhile, Lively's reps claimed that the actor and Wayfarer Studios co-founder Steve Sarowitz are continuing 'to turn a case of sexual harassment and retaliation into entertainment for the tabloids'.
Lively's spokesperson continued: “The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame and attack women’s rights and reputations.
"Including in the past month seeking to strike down for all a powerful California victims’ rights law, calling it ‘unconstitutional."
Shortly after the subpoena, Baldoni's team dropped the request, with Lively's rep confirming the U-turn to PEOPLE saying they were 'pleased' Baldoni's team had dropped '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,” they said.
“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.
“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."
Lively and Baldoni both starred in 2024 film It Ends With Us - based on Colleen Hoover's book of the same title - and have since been embroiled in legal battles with one another.
A Simple Favor star Lively was the first to file a suit in December of last year where she accused her co-star of sexual harassment. Lively also claimed that Baldoni and his PR team had gone out of their way to create a smear campaign against her.
The mom-of-four first filed a civil complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department on December 20, before going on to move the complaint to federal court on December 31.
Baldoni later retaliated by filing a $400,000,000 defamation suit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
UNILAD has reached out to Baldoni's reps for comment.