Taylor Swift will no longer need to serve as a witness in the case between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who have been embroiled in a bitter legal feud since late last year.
The subpoena issued against the popstar earlier this month has been withdrawn by Baldoni’s team after Swift voluntarily provided information, sources with direct knowledge told TMZ.
A spokesperson for Lively told the Daily News they “supported the efforts of Taylor’s team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas,” saying they’ll “continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed” during the legal process.
“At some point, [Baldoni’s team] will run out of distractions from the actual claims of sexual harassment and retaliation they are facing,” the rep said, calling the subpoena merely an effort to “exploit” Swift.
On the heels of the subpoena, a rep for Swift told TMZ that contrary to claims made by Baldoni, she “never set foot” on the set of “It Ends With Us,” was not involved in any casting decisions and never gave any notes on the film.
Baldoni, the movie’s director, has said that Swift had a hand in approving the casting of Isabela Ferrer as the younger version of Lively’s character, and that she was present during a heated meeting over rewrites to the script.
Instead, the spokesperson said Swift’s involvement was limited to “permitting the use of one song,” saying the subpoena was designed to use her name “to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
Lively filed a lawsuit in late December accusing Baldoni of sexually harassing her and orchestrating a retaliatory smear campaign. Weeks later, he filed a $400 million countersuit, accusing Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane of defamation and civil extortion.
Among his many accusations, Baldoni claimed Lively used 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. The suit included alleged texts from Lively referring to Swift as one of her “dragons.”
Amid the ongoing drama, sources have said Swift wants nothing to do with the legal fight and that her longtime friendship with Lively has become strained as a result.
The case is currently set to go to trial next March in New York City.
Baldoni’s legal team did not immediately respond to The News’ request for comment.
