Why Taylor Swift Needs To Testify At The Trial Between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively

With chances of a settlement looking slimmer by the day, it looks like Taylor Swift is going to have to testify in the trial between her longtime friend Blake Lively and the "Gossip Girl" alum's "It Ends With Us" costar and director, Justin Baldoni.

After Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni claiming sexual harassment on the set of the film, Baldoni fired right back with a lawsuit of his own, claiming that the actress and her husband, "Deadpool" actor Ryan Reynolds, were attempting to wrestle creative control of the movie away from him.

There have been a lot of questions about how much influence Taylor Swift has had on “It Ends With Us,” although sources close to Baldoni have indicated that Lively used her friend’s star power in an attempt to intimidate the director.

One insider told TMZthat Lively made a calculated plan to have Swift show up at her apartment while she was reviewing script changes with Baldoni, leaving the singer feeling “used.” The same source claimed, however, that Swift did not contribute to the discussion and was only introduced to Baldoni.

However, this has been refuted by other sources, who claim that Swift did indeed praise Lively’s script changes. The evidence of what occurred that day is minimal.

In his lawsuit, Baldoni provides text messages that he claims show an interaction with Lively following the night’s events. The text messages say that her changes made the scene “so much more fun and interesting,” but added that he “would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor,” hinting at the “Anti-Hero” singer’s involvement.

Lively then allegedly responded, "I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better," Lively's alleged text read. "Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. [Smiley-face emoji] you will too, I can promise you."

Swift and Lively’s relationship has reportedly been on the rocks after Lively referred to her as one of her “dragons” and a “gorgeous monster.”

According to Baldoni's new website, the “A Simple Favor” actress threatened to withhold her approval of the movie’s trailer unless she was given more time to work on a cut of the movie with her own personal editor, instead of using the one Baldoni had created.

He claimed that Lively would “change her mind” about securing Swift’s song “My Tears Ricochet” if her demands were not met. As proof, Baldoni included an alleged text exchange with a Sony executive, which reportedly took place in May 2024:

"Blake is calling Taylor to approve the song. She of course just reached out saying she is asking for time with [REDACTED] her editor. We know it was conditional on signing contract, but asking if you will reconsider so [REDACTED] can release this trailer and Blake does not change her mind re calling Taylor Swift."

According to Baldoni, they agreed to use Lively’s version of the trailer in order to keep Swift’s song in the trailer.

In a resurfaced clip from Access Hollywood, Baldoni claims that he cast actress Isabela Ferrer to play a younger version of Lively’s character on the advice of Swift. He recalled how he brought her casting tape to Lively and Swift, who immediately praised the “phenomenal actress” and decided to cast her.

“I had actually brought in and showed her casting tape to Blake and Taylor and they were both, like, ‘Yes! Her,'” Baldoni shared. “And that’s a true story.”

Ferrer later told Extraat the film’s premiere that she knew Swift had “some influence” in her getting the role. “I don’t even know if I’m supposed to be saying it, but I’m saying it!” she explained. “Yeah, she was a helpful part of the process of the audition, which I found out later after I got it, and that rocked my world. I have no words.”

In August 2024, Lively praised Swift’s involvement during an interview on CBS Mornings. “I think that, for better or worse, she experienced the whole thing with me,” she said at the time, adding that Swift was at her side “throughout this whole process.”

“This was actually — it’s quite a small budget movie. … So we never thought, like, our eyeballs were not that big to think that we could put one of her songs in the movie and it had to be,” she added, again referring to Swift giving her permission to use “My Tears Ricochet” in the film’s trailer and soundtrack.

Given Lively's comments, it's clear that Swift has had a lot more influence on this film than it seems. Giving permission to use her song in the movie is pretty standard in this industry, but it looks like she also had a hand in the casting process and may have even influenced script changes that Lively proposed. With that being said, no one knows for sure what really happened at that meeting in Lively's apartment except for the people who were there, which means that the only way to get to the bottom of things is to have Swift testify under oath.

Although, with the trial still a year away, it’s possible that Swift will take a page out of Lively’s book and use her star power to coerce her into a settlement. Otherwise, she might be cursing her name, wishing she stayed, and watching how her tears ricochet.