Taylor Swift has found herself officially dragged into the middle of her bestie Blake Lively‘s messy legal battle with Justin Baldoni.
The pop superstar has been issued a subpoena by lawyers representing Baldoni, the director and co-lead of “It Ends With Us,” who Lively has accused of sexual harassment on set and a retaliatory smear campaign.
After previously teasing they may “depose Taylor Swift” — along with anyone else who “can provide evidence in this case” — Baldoni’s attorneys have formerly called for the “Shake It Off” singer to appear as a witness in the ongoing saga.
Baldoni’s legal team is seeking for Swift to reveal any information she has that pertains to the case, including anything her longtime friend may have told her in private.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Swift distanced her from the courtroom drama, saying her only involvement in the film was “permitting the use of one song.”
“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,” the rep said in a statement to Deadline and TMZ.
“Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case,” they continued.
But Baldoni claims Swift was much more involved than just the licensing of a song. He says she approved the casting of Isabela Ferrer as a young Lily Bloom, and was present during a heated meeting over rewrites to the script.
Baldoni has alleged that Lively used nearly any and all means to pressure him into giving over creative control of the film, including leveraging Swift’s status as one of the most famous people on Earth.
Lively and Baldoni are expected to duke it out in a trial currently set to begin March 9 in New York City.
Mike Gottlieb, legal counsel for the 37-year-old “Gossip Girl” alum, confirmed in a statement on Thursday that Lively will “of course” take the stand against Baldoni.
The pair have been entangled in the legal and PR battle since late December when Lively filed her lawsuit against the 41-year-old actor-director.
Baldoni then filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times for its bombshell exposé into Lively’s claims.
He followed that with a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane, accusing them of defamation and civil extortion. All three parties are seeking to have those legal filings dismissed.
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