Taylor Swift’s Team Slams Court Summons as ‘Tabloid Clickbait’

Images via DFree; Kathy Hutchins; Tinseltown; lev radin / Shutterstock

Taylor Swift’s team is pushing back firmly after the singer was subpoenaed in the escalating legal dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, calling the move an attempt to generate “tabloid clickbait.”

The Grammy-winning artist was named in the case over allegations she influenced creative decisions on It Ends With Us, a film adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel. Both Lively and Baldoni starred in the project, which has since become the centre of a highly public legal battle.

Baldoni claims he was invited to Lively’s New York home in 2023 to discuss script rewrites and was surprised to find Swift and Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, present. In a text message cited in the case, Lively reportedly compared herself to Game of Thrones’ Daenerys, calling Swift and Reynolds her “dragons” who protect her.

Despite Baldoni’s claims—and an earlier comment by actress Isabela Ferrer suggesting Swift had a role in her casting—Swift’s representatives have categorically denied any involvement in the film’s creative process. “She never saw an edit or made any notes on the film,” they said. “She was not involved in casting or decision-making.”

Her team clarified that her only connection to the movie was granting the rights for her track “My Tears Ricochet” to be used in the film’s soundtrack.

Swift’s team added that she didn’t even watch It Ends With Us until weeks after its release due to her ongoing global tour. They argue the subpoena serves no real legal purpose beyond leveraging her name to draw public attention to the case.

The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni began in late 2024, with Lively accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and defamation. Baldoni has countersued for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy.