Since Blake Lively’s legal battle with Justin Baldoni began at the end of December, Shake It Off singer Taylor Swift has not publicly spoken out in support of her ‘best friend’ – sparking claims that relations have become strained between the two women
Justin Baldoni releases ‘It Ends With Us’ raw footage amid allegations
Taylor Swift has sparked rumours that she has “distanced” herself from actress BFF Blake Lively after the singer failed to publicly support the It Ends With Us star amid her sexual harassment claims against co-star Justin Baldoni.
A source told the Daily Mail that the 35-year-old megastar’s silence could be used by Justin Baldoni’s team to shed doubt on Lively’s claims that she was sexually harassed by the actor on the set of their film, It Ends With Us. Lively, 37, accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment. He countersued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, for £321 million, accusing them of trying to destroy his reputation and career.
Swift was dragged into the bitter feud after Baldoni published a string of alleged messages from Lively in which (using a Game of Thrones reference) described her as one of her “dragons”.
In his filing, Baldoni claims that Lively brought Swift to a meeting about script changes. He claims that she used her “mega-celebrity friend” to intimidate him, and the “subtext” of Swift’s presence at the meeting was that he “needed to comply with Blake’s direction for the script”.
The source said: “Taylor is a sexual assault victim and spent more than a year of her life fighting for a case that she knew she would win. She has donated money to sexual assault victims’ funds. If Taylor truly supported Blake, would she not want to publicly back her?
“Some people feel [Taylor] should be offering comfort and using her platform to rally Swifties in support of what is right.
“Instead, Taylor appears to have gone silent and is staying out of the public eye. This will likely play a role in Justin’s defense.
“If Taylor does not believe Blake, she will be the smoking gun in this case.”
Representatives for Taylor Swift and Blake Lively have been approached for comment.
In mid-February, Lively filed an amended complaint that she says provides “significant additional evidence and corroboration” of her original claims against Justin Baldoni.
Among the Hollywood actress’ amends come as she claims she can back up her original sexual harassment and retaliation concerns against the actor, saying other women have also told her how he made them uncomfortable on set.
Baldoni has strongly denied all allegations and just last month, countersued Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, 48, for £321 million ($400m) for an apparent attempt to destroy his reputation and career. Reynolds has also denied the allegations made against him.
Now, in a statement shared with the Mirror by her lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, it’s said that evidence for Lively’s case includes previously undisclosed communications involving the actress, representatives of Sony and Wayfarer, and numerous other witnesses.
Lively’s lawyers also say they will move to dismiss the “utterly meritless lawsuits” brought against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds over the next several weeks. The lawyers went on to say: “We will move full speed ahead with discovery that we expect will reveal shocking details about the depth to which the Defendants have sunk in their unending efforts to “bury,” “ruin,” and “destroy” Ms. Lively and her family.”
In 2017, Taylor sued ex DJ David Mueller for battery and sexual assault after she claimed that he reached under her skirt and groped her backside at an event in 2013. The star, then 27, claimed that Mueller, a Colorado radio host, grabbed her bottom while they were posing together for a photograph at a meet and greet event after her concert in Denver.
He went on to lose his job after she told the story and he sued her for $3 million in lost earnings. However, she countersued for the symbolic amount of $1, saying her actions were on behalf of other victims.
Since then, she has donated money to organisations which help victims of sexual assault, and in 2016 she gave $250,000 to Kesha for her legal battle against music producer Dr. Luke.
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