How Taylor Swift is Fighting Back Against the Justin Baldoni Subpoena

Taylor Swift attends the 65th Grammy Awards
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Taylor Swift does not want to testify amid Justin Baldoni's legal battle against Blake Lively. Earlier this month, Taylor was subpoenaed in the case - meaning she is being asked to testify in the upcoming trial - but the popstar and her team are fighting back against the injunction.

Blake and Justin are locked in a fierce legal battle over events that transpired during filming of their 2024 movie It Ends With Us. Rumours of a feud first began circulating during their press tour for the film, when Blake and Justin — who starred alongside one another in the film — didn't do any press interviews together. At the premiere, Justin (who also directed the film) did not pose with any other cast members.

Then in December 2024, Blake officially filed a lawsuit against her co-star where she accused him of sexual harassment as well as orchestrating a smear campaign against her. Justin has denied all allegations. In response to the claims against him, he swiftly proceeded to launch his own lawsuit against Blake (which also included her husband, Ryan Reynolds) for defamation.

As for Taylor Swift, she has been named as part of Justin lawsuit. The Jane the Virgin actor claims that Taylor was involved in Blake's alleged attempts to claim control over creative decisions for It Ends With Us. However, Taylor's team has already denied her involvement in the drama.

A rep for the singer called the subpoena an attempt to dredge up 'tabloid clickbait.' The rep stated to People: "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 traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history."

They added: "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."

Venable, the law firm that has represented Taylor for many years, was subpoenaed in the case too, and more specifically the attorney Douglas Baldridge. In a recent development, Venable has asked the court to dismiss the subpoena in documents obtained by Billboard. The firm wrote: "Venable had nothing to do with the film at issue or any of the claims or defenses asserted in the underlying lawsuit. There is no reason for this subpoena other than to distract from the facts of the case and impose undue burden and expense on a non-party."

We will continue to update this story.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.