Justin Baldoni drops Taylor Swift investigation in shocking move as Blake Lively legal battle rages on

Justin Baldoni and his legal team have made a shocking move regarding their “harassing” probe against Taylor Swift amid his legal battle with Blake Lively.

Justin Baldoni and his legal team dropped Taylor Swift’s subpoena amid his ongoing legal battle with Blake Lively, Page Six can confirm.

The probe against the pop star, 35, was halted after the It Ends With Us director and his legal team obtained details they wanted, Deadline reported Thursday. No further information was provided.

Page Six has reached out to Baldoni’s reps for comment. Meanwhile, a source cryptically tells us of the matter, “When information is voluntarily received, there is no need for subpoenas.”

Blake Lively’s friend Taylor Swift is no longer being subpoenaed in her legal battle with Justin Baldoni. Picture: Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Baldoni’s legal team dropped Swift’s subpoena after information was “voluntarily received.” Picture: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Lively’s rep, for their part, told Deadline in response to the decision, “We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm.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.”

The rep went on to slam Baldoni, his company, Wayfarer Studios, and their lawyers for putting Swift, “a woman who has been an inspiration for tens of millions across the globe,” at the centre of the scandal.

The spokesperson added, “Faced with having to justify themselves in federal court, they folded.”

Page Six has also reached out to Lively’s rep for comment, but has not heard back.

Baldoni’s lawyers initially subpoenaed Swift on the belief that she played a role in Lively’s alleged attempts to take control of It Ends With Us.

Lawyer Bryan Freedman first name-dropped the Grammy winner in Baldoni’s $US400 million defamation and extortion lawsuit, claiming she was present for a pivotal meeting about script rewrites between the co-stars. He also claimed that the Gossip Girl star leveraged her friendship with Swift for power.

Baldoni first mentioned Swift in his $US400 million countersuit against Lively. Picture: Robert Kamau/GC Images

Freedman further alleged in the court docs that Baldoni got a text from Lively in which she referred to Swift and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, as “dragons” who would do anything to protect her.

“The message could not have been clearer. Baldoni was not just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him,” the lawyer argued at the time.

Freedman then went a step further by alleging in a written affidavit to the court that Lively’s lawyers once threatened Swift’s legal team. He claimed that Lively threatened to release their private texts if she did not publicly support her. She also allegedly demanded that Swift delete their messages.

Lively’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb of Willkie Farr vehemently denied those claims, telling Page Six, “We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality.”

Lively and Baldoni clashed on the set of It Ends With Us despite playing lovers in the film. Picture: Nicole Rivelli/Sony Pictures via AP

The judge in this case ultimately ruled that the allegations Freedman made were inadmissable in court.

Swift, meanwhile, has always maintained she had nothing to do with the It Ends With Us drama.

“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,” her spokesperson previously told Page Six.

Swift’s rep has not returned Page Six’s request for comment on Baldoni’s decision to drop the subpoena.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Justin Baldoni drops Taylor Swift investigation in shocking move as Blake Lively legal battle rages on