Taylor Swift subpoenaed in escalating It Ends With Us legal battle

Director Justin Baldoni’s US$400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds intensifies with the subpoena of the pop megastar, who Lively referred to as one of her “dragons,” in connection with alleged interference in the film’s script.

A spokesman for Taylor Swift called the subpoena “an attempt to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”

Quelle surprise — Taylor Swift has been dragged into the increasingly operatic lawsuit over the making of It Ends With Us.

The pop megastar was subpoenaed by director Justin Baldoni’s legal team in a dispute over creative changes to the film’s script, specifically a rooftop scene that was reportedly altered at the suggestion of star and executive producer Blake Lively.

According to Baldoni’s lawsuit, he was invited to Lively’s New York City home in 2023 to discuss the changes. Upon arrival, Baldoni claims he was surprised to find not only Lively, but also her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and their close friend, Swift, all waiting to weigh in. Baldoni alleges the trio strongly backed Lively’s version of the scene, encouraging him to accept it.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds attend the premiere of Another Simple Favor on April 27. Picture: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

The suit references communications that mention Swift’s name. In one message, Lively refers to Swift and Reynolds as her “dragons,” writing: “If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for.”

At the time, Baldoni appeared to accept the revisions in stride. “I really love what you did,” he wrote to Lively. “It really does help a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor),” he added, with a wink emoji. “Really excited and grateful to do this together.”

However, tensions over the changes later escalated, according to the complaint. Baldoni reportedly sent Lively a six-minute voice message at 2am, apologising for any upset caused. “You probably have kids all over you and a baby on your boob, and you’re listening to me ramble at 2 in the morning,” he says at the end of the message.

Has anyone else picked up that Taylor Swift's outraged response to being subpoenaed by Justin Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman in the Blake Lively/Justin Baldoni mess is way off base [in terms of the facts] and a study in deflection.

Taylor Swift's announcement asserting that…

— Lady C (@LadyColinCampb) May 10, 2025

Swift’s camp, predictably, are having none of it. A spokesman for the singer dismissed the subpoena, calling it “an attempt to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”

They added: “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, and was travelling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”

The spokesman emphasised that Swift’s only involvement with It Ends With Us was licensing her song ‘My Tears Ricochet’ for use in a trailer and a scene. “Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did,” the statement concluded.

Swift’s subpoena is the latest chapter in the US$400 million lawsuit filed by director Baldoni against Blake Lively, her publicist, and husband Ryan Reynolds. The suit alleges they hijacked his 2024 hit It Ends With Us — an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel in which Lively plays a woman entangled with an abusive man, portrayed by Baldoni — and set out to “destroy” him with fabricated sexual harassment allegations.

This legal battle accuses the power couple of civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy. The dispute traces back to Lively’s complaint to California’s civil rights commission, where she accused Baldoni of sexual harassment during production and claimed he retaliated by orchestrating fake social media activity and planting damaging stories. What started as a film about a toxic relationship has, in an absurdly fitting turn, devolved into a toxic relationship about the film itself.