Taylor Swift may be out of the woods when it comes to Blake Lively’s ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni — but the pair’s friendship has still not bounced back.
“There’s been radio silence between Taylor and Blake since the subpoena was dropped,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly, noting that the twosome’s previously close relationship has “stalled.”
According to the source, the “legal tension” that has unfolded has created a sense of “distance” between the once-BFFs. “They won’t pick up where they left off because of all the emotional residue,” the insider explains.
Swift was subpoenaed by Baldoni’s legal team earlier this month. Us confirmed on May 22 that the subpoena had been dropped. The summons was dropped “because information was voluntarily provided” to Baldoni’s lawyers, a source close to the matter told Us at the time.
With Swift’s legal worries behind her, the first insider says the “Fortnight” singer, 35, is “not talking about the case” but has made it “very clear she is feeling an immense sense of relief,” noting that “it’s been a stressful few weeks for her and she seems happier and lighter since the subpoena was dropped.”
“Taylor has handled it with a lot of grace and is not solely focused on it,” the insider adds. “She’s moved on.”
Swift was initially brought into Lively’s ongoing legal drama with Baldoni, 41, after she was seemingly mentioned in their respective lawsuits (although not by name). In December 2024, Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni accusing her It Ends With Us director and costar of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and orchestrating an alleged smear campaign against her.
Baldoni denied all the allegations, subsequently filing his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing the couple of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and more. They have since denied the claims and pushed for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
Earlier this month, Baldoni’s legal team then subpoenaed Swift, whose song “My Tears Ricochet” is featured in the film. Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman claimed he had spoken to an ally of the pop star who said Lively pushed Swift to delete more than 10 years of personal text messages between them.
Swift reacted to the legal situation via a statement through her representative and denied having any creative involvement in the movie.
“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,” the rep said in a statement to Us at the time. “She did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”
The statement continued: “The connection Taylor had to this film was permitting the use of one song, ‘My Tears Ricochet.’ 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.”
Lively, for her part, said she was “pleased” Baldoni’s team withdrew their “harassing subpoenas” to 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,” a spokesperson for Lively said in a May 22 statement to Us.
Despite her public support for Swift, a source previously told Us that the legal fallout has caused tension in their friendship.
“Taylor and Blake have spoken, and Blake [said she’s sorry],” the insider revealed in a recent Us cover story. “Taylor is very forgiving, and in her eyes, she still considers Blake a friend. But the lawsuit is still ongoing, and until it’s resolved, [things are] difficult.”
