How Taylor Swift Might Have Destroyed Blake Lively's Legal Strategy And Handed Justin Baldoni The Win

Taylor Swift may have just handed Justin Baldoni the biggest win of his career without ever making a sound.

Let’s get one thing straight first: Taylor Swift has not publicly backed Justin Baldoni, nor is she testifying against him. She also hasn’t publicly shown her support for her best friend (ex-bff?) Blake Lively. One thing we know for sure is that she’s a woman who’s spent the better part of her career being dragged, gaslit, sued, and surveilled, so you’d better believe she knows how to move with precision, especially when the stakes are legal.

At the moment, all signs point to her quietly but strategically distancing herself from Blake Lively in a way that could alter the course of this lawsuit forever.

Taylor Swift Distancing Herself From Blake Lively?

The signs of Taylor Swift distancing herself from Blake Lively have been there for months. Back in February, TMZ ran an exclusive titled “Bad Blood with Blake Lively... I'm Not Your Dragon!!!”, revealing that Swift apparently felt “used” and blindsided after Lively characterized her as one of her “dragons” during a heated meeting with Baldoni at Blake and Ryan Reynolds’ NYC penthouse. According to a source close to Swift, she showed up because Blake told her to, not because she knew there was a confrontation planned. 

Swift reportedly walked in as Baldoni was leaving and was introduced to him for the first (and only) time. Her only comment was that she was excited to see the movie. Later, Blake would text Baldoni comparing herself to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones, with Swift and Reynolds cast as her “dragons.” Even Swift’s friends called the reference “uncool and unnecessary.” 

Sources say Swift learned that Lively had been using her name for clout for years, including allegedly telling a young actress that “Taylor cast her” in the film, something that never happened. As one insider told AceShowbiz, “Taylor is taking a step back from Blake because she doesn’t want to get tangled in this more than she already has – which is far more than she ever needed to be.”  

In addition, Swift’s reps made it clear she “never set foot on the set” of It Ends With Us, “was not involved in any casting or creative decisions,” and “did not even see the movie until weeks after its public release.” Her team states she didn’t edit the script or score the film.  

Despite this, Lively name-dropped her constantly. If Swift really was one of Lively’s ride-or-dies, wouldn’t she be saying something right now instead of denying everything Lively’s saying? 

Swift obviously knows the difference between a tabloid scandal and a legal subpoena. So if anyone knows how careful you have to be when the law gets involved, it’s her. Watching her not play into this PR circus, not defend Blake Lively, and instead fully cooperate with Bryan Freedman is tactical brilliance. It’s her way of saying she’s not involved – and that she’s likely not backing her best friend of ten years.

Subpoenaed. Then, suddenly... not.

Justin Baldoni’s legal team issued a subpoena to Taylor Swift. The reason was for the messages between Swift and Lively, or more specifically, messages that might reveal Lively’s team threatened Swift behind the scenes. Documents claim that if Swift didn’t offer public support, ten years of private texts might be exposed.

Swift never commented on it publicly. But Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman thought it was serious enough to submit an affidavit stating as much – under oath, mind you. Lawyers don’t just go around making sworn statements without backing. That’d be reckless to do in a federal case.

However, just as quickly as the subpoena appeared, it was dropped.

Is Taylor’s Dad, Scott Swift, Involved? 

According to commentator Candace Owens, a source informed her that the person who may have tipped off Baldoni’s legal team about the alleged blackmail attempt was – she claims – none other than Swift’s own father.

In a recent video, Owens broke down the exact timeline: Swift’s longtime lawyer, Jay Douglas Baldridge, received a subpoena for communications with Blake’s attorney, Michael Gottlieb, on April 28. By May 12, Swift’s legal team filed to quash it. Then a bombshell letter from Freedman followed, stating that he was informed Blake’s team requested Swift delete her texts and that Gottlieb allegedly called Baldridge to demand Swift release a public statement in Blake’s defense… or else Blake would leak ten years of private messages between them.

Freedman’s source, she adds, is a “person very closely linked to Taylor Swift,” whom he spoke with for an hour on Valentine’s Day. The individual confirmed the call, described its content in detail, and claimed Baldridge accused Gottlieb of extortion on the spot and ended the call.

Owens, reviewing the documents and timeline, offered a theory that’s quickly gone viral: “Allegedly, allegedly, Taylor Swift’s father, Scott Swift, was the one who tipped off Bryan Freedman.”

Owens added, “You didn’t threaten Taylor Swift, my friend. You threatened an entire empire.”

Swift’s empire is the same one that contributed $4.3 billion to the U.S. GDP during her Eras Tour. Scott Swift, a former stockbroker and the namesake of Merrill Lynch’s Swift Group, knows exactly what’s on the line.  

So why did the subpoena drop? Well, according to Page Six, Swift’s legal team “voluntarily received” the information Baldoni’s camp wanted. In other words, Baldoni’s team got what they wanted from Swift. Did her team give them crucial information to leverage their case in the lawsuit? Did they get texts from Lively saying, “I’m going to steal this movie.” I’m joking, of course, but the point is that you don’t drop a subpoena unless you already have what you need.

Bad Blood 

“Right now, if Taylor had one wish, it would be that she never met Blake,” a source told the Daily Mail.  

Lively and Swift have known each other for years. Blake's kids call her "Aunt Taylor." They've done holidays together and spent time at the Super Bowl. Now they have nothing, and Lively seems to also have bad blood with Gigi Hadid. She wasn’t at the model’s 30th birthday party.  Even Travis Kelce unfollowed Ryan Reynolds on Instagram.

Is Taylor Team Baldoni?

Baldoni and Swift aren’t friends, and they don’t follow each other. She’s never worked with him either, nor has she spoken about him or shown any connection beyond being roped into this mess. It’s not like she’s going to tweet #JusticeForJustin, but she might still be helping him win.

“If Swift publicly supported Lively,” one fan noted, “Baldoni would have lost the PR war before it even began.”

No one knows how this case is going to end or when it’s going to end. However, Baldoni received a major bonus if Swift's team handed them information that would help their case. I’m sure of one thing: Taylor Swift, without saying a single word, may have quietly tipped the scales in Justin Baldoni’s favor. That's one truth that's difficult to deny. The weight of Swifties alone could’ve crushed Baldoni’s reputation. If she had said even one sentence in Lively’s favor, this case would look completely different right now.