All The Rumors About Taylor Swift And Blake Lively's Falling Out

The following article contains mention of domestic violence and allegations of sexual harassment.

Taylor Swift and Blake Lively's friendship began in September 2015 after the latter shared a picture from a L'Oreal campaign that referenced Swift's "Bad Blood" video. "Soooo, turns out this WASN'T a video shoot for John Legend's cover of Bad Blood," Lively captioned her photo, which featured stars like John Legend and Julianne Moore (via ET). The actor also wrote, "@lorealparisofficial blew it out for this one. My #pinkobsession is exposed now. Ok your turn. I won't tell!#AlsoTurnsOutJohnLegendIsntCoveringBadBlood Time to start a petition!" At the time, most Swifties thought that Lively was being catty, but she set the record straight by dismissing those claims and saying she actually wanted to be friends with the "Blank Space" singer.

Lively's wishes finally came true when she spent time with Swift in Australia in December 2015, and the duo has been unstoppable since. In 2017, Swift revealed that Lively and Ryan Reynolds' daughter, James Reynolds, was featured in her song, "Gorgeous," off of her sixth studio album, "Reputation." The following year, Lively was present at Swift's New Year's Eve party, and the duo's relationship skyrocketed to a point where Swift was named the godmother to Lively's daughters.

There was no doubt that the Reynolds family had a soft spot for Swift. "I would do anything for that woman. She's a genius," Ryan said of Swift in a conversation with ET. Sadly, the friendship between Swift and Lively has reportedly deteriorated, and their fallout has everything to do with Lively's legal war with her "It Ends With Us" co-star, Justin Baldoni, which threatens to shatter Swift's good girl persona.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni were cast as lead actors in the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel, "It Ends with Us," in January 2023. Shortly before the film's August 2024 release, rumors of a feud between the co-stars began to make the rounds. Baldoni was accused of being shady toward Lively; he had allegedly made a request — he asked her trainer her weight prior to a scene where he lifted her — that seemed to fat-shame her. The actor was also accused of heavily lengthening a kissing scene.

In a post on Instagram, Brandon Sklenar, who portrayed Atlas in the movie, addressed the rumors by emphasizing that the off-camera drama "should not detract from what our intentions were in making this film," while referencing the flick's domestic violence theme. Lively eventually sued Baldoni for sexual harassment in December 2024, and shortly afterward, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Baldoni accused the couple of several faults, including extortion, public slander, and breach of privacy.

Taylor Swift wasn't mentioned in Baldoni's filing, but her first name appeared in texts in the lawsuit in relation to a rooftop scene in "It Ends With Us" (details on this, next). As such, the singer was said to be slowly withdrawing from her friendship with Lively. "For the time being she [Swift] 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,' an informer whispered to Daily Mail.

Justin Baldoni claimed in his lawsuit that he, Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, and Ryan Reynolds had a meeting in which a rooftop scene on "It End With Us" was edited. Swift was only referred to in the filing as a "megacelebrity friend," per Variety, and was said to have approved of Lively's input. After the meeting, Baldoni also appeared to have loved the adjustments made to the script.

The "Jane the Virgin" actor reportedly sent a text to Lively at the time, writing, "Also was working on rooftop scene today, I really love what you did. It really does [help] a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor) You really are a talent across the board. Really excited [and] grateful to do this together." Baldoni later claimed in his lawsuit that he complimented Lively's work out of obligation.

According to an unnamed source who spoke to TMZ, the meeting between the quartet was not even planned. Lively had reportedly invited Baldoni to her and Reynolds' New York City penthouse, and Swift, who was scheduled to meet Lively afterward, happened to arrive before Baldoni's time was up. The pair reportedly got acquainted — even though Baldoni felt cornered by the presence of Swift and Reynolds — and that marked the only time they interacted in person. Meanwhile, the co-stars were obviously on good terms at the time of the meeting, but pictures of Lively and Baldoni working on set have since surfaced, and the duo's body language is uncomfortable to watch.

Taylor Swift's song, "my tears ricochet," was used in the trailer of the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni movie "It Ends With Us." Baldoni credited Lively with securing the song, which was originally released off of Swift's 2020 album, "folklore." "I take no credit for that, I'm sure that was all Blake," the actor said in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. When Lively was asked how she and Swift settled on the song, she gushed over the singer, telling the same outlet (via X), "All of her songs are great. We could have put any song up there. [We] could have, like, a voice memo song [and] it would have been the best song to ever have been in a movie."

Following the movie's release, Lively acknowledged several people in the credits, including her children, Gordon Reynolds — her husband's pseudonym that refers to Ryan Reynolds' make-believe twin brother — and of course, Swift. In Baldoni's lawsuit, it was alleged that Swift showered praises on Lively's edits to the rooftop scene, but according to an anonymous source who spoke to Us Weekly, the singer distanced herself from the project and "was not a producer on the film and had no creative involvement."

Swift's camp also denied that she had any role in the casting process of the film, but their claims became contradictory when Isabela Ferrer, who played a younger version of Lively's character Lily Bloom, said she had Swift to thank for getting the part. "She [Swift] was a helpful part of the process of the audition, which I found out later after I got it, and that rocked my world," Ferrer told "Extra."

Super Bowl suites are known not to come cheap. Case in point: Caesars Superdome, which was the home of Super Bowl LIX, has three levels of suites whose tickets cost between $530,000 and $1,950,000. High-level suites are the most expensive, but they offer occupants a luxury game-watching experience. At Super Bowl LIX, the extravagant suites offered different food platters, seafood, and steaks with the Super Bowl logo brand.

The grand service explains why being in Taylor Swift's suite at the Super Bowl is a big deal. Swift is, of course, an NFL darling, and in 2024, she watched the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers from the comfort of a $3 million suite paid for by her famous Chiefs' beau, Travis Kelce. Swift's guests in the suite included her mom, Andrea Swift, Blake Lively, Ice Spice, and her long-term friend, Ashley Avignone.

At Super Bowl LIX, Swift still had a gorgeous view of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles game, but her friend, Lively, was nowhere in sight. The "I Knew You Were Trouble" singer was in the company of several people, including her family and the Haim sisters. Questions were raised about Lively's absence, and an informant told Us Weekly that she decided to forgo the Super Bowl because "she and Ryan [Reynolds] are keeping a low profile at the moment."

Justin Baldoni's lawsuit included a text message in which Blake Lively was reportedly gloating over her closeness with Taylor Swift. In the private message (via TMZ), which Lively wrote after her alleged meeting with Swift, Ryan Reynolds, and Baldoni, the actor said, "If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you'll appreciate that I'm Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. You will too, I can promise you." Lively was also said to be referencing her husband, Reynolds, in the text.

According to sources close to Swift, the singer wasn't impressed by Lively's wording. An unnamed insider told TMZ that the comment about Swift being Lively's "dragon" was labeled "uncool and unnecessary" by Swift's friends. Per the informer, it was the trigger Swift needed to begin distancing herself from Lively. The line, they said, was meant to evoke fear.

While the names of the friends in question were not mentioned, for a long time, Lively was part of Swift's girl squad. The elite crew includes model Karlie Kloss, actor Cara Delevingne, and singer Selena Gomez. There's no telling if there will be division within the squad, but rumored signs point toward a split. Model Gigi Hadid, who is also part of the squad, has been said to be sticking with Swift amid the Lively controversy. "Gigi has always had a closer friendship with Taylor and stands by her," a little birdie told Us Weekly. "She has been a very loyal friend to Taylor, and they have been best friends for a decade now."

As of May 2, 2025, it was still unclear whether Taylor Swift would give a testimony under oath in the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni case. Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told TMZ, "I don't know that we're going to depose Taylor Swift or not. I think that, that's going to be, you know, probably a game-time decision. I don't know that [the] decision's been made, but I can tell you this ... anyone that ... can provide evidence in this case is going to be deposed."

A week later, it was reported that Swift had been subpoenaed by Baldoni's camp, and per USA Today, it took another week for Freedman and his team to send a letter to Judge Lewis Liman to further support their request. Baldoni's camp had earlier declared its intention to question Venable LLP, a firm that worked with Swift in the past. As an answer to Lively's team's claim that they were asking for "irrelevant information" at the time, the May 14 letter claimed that interrogating Venable LLP would support "witness tampering" allegations. The allegations in question: a source within Swift and Lively's circle claimed that the latter asked Swift to get rid of their messages and further coerced the "Don't Blame Me" singer — through her legal representatives — to publish a "statement of support."

The May 14 letter had hardly stayed on Liman's desk before it was thrown out the window. According to Today, Liman wrote of the request: "The sole purpose of the Letter is to 'promote public scandal' by advancing inflammatory accusations, on information and belief, against Lively and her counsel. It transparently invites a press uproar by suggesting that Lively and her counsel attempted to 'extort' a well-known celebrity."

Justin Baldoni's legal team has publicly handled their case against Blake Lively with ruthlessness and sprinkles of mockery, if Baldoni's attorney's comments in an interview with People are anything to go by. "Since Ms. Lively is open to testifying, let's make it count," Bryan Freedman said in a May 8, 2025, conversation with the outlet. "Hold the deposition at MSG, sell tickets or stream it, and donate every dollar to organizations helping victims of domestic abuse." Freedman also revealed that his client, Baldoni, would be testifying in court in the trial that, at the time of writing, has been set to take place in March 2026.

While Freedman accused Lively of seeking public relevance, he was also blamed for doing the same. When Baldoni's team subpoenaed Taylor Swift, Swift's team replied by saying (via WNBC) that the subpoena was "designed to use Taylor Swift's name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case."

Amid the lawyers' heated exchanges, one thing was rumored to be clear: Swift's friendship with Lively had hit the rocks, and the subpoena was the straw that broke the camel's back. "Their friendship has halted," an informer told People of the duo's decade-old friendship. "Taylor wants no part in this drama." The subpoena, they said, had "fractured" the "fragile peace" the pair once had.

Taylor Swift has always been vocal about the struggles of being a public figure, especially as far as her privacy is concerned. When Swift was subpoenaed by Justin Baldoni's team, it was clear that there was a probability that her private chats with Blake Lively would find their way to the public. 

According to a source who spoke with Radar, that was Swift's worst-case scenario. "These texts coming out is Taylor's worst nightmare. She's public when it comes to her gigs and interacting with fans, but beyond that is fiercely protective of her privacy," the source said. "She's in an utter panic about how this is going to affect her. Really, she's in a state of disbelief – and overcome with anxiety that this could potentially destroy her career and A-list friendships."

Per reports, text exchanges during Swift and Lively's friendship were rumored to include intimate details about Swift's highly publicized relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce. In fact, Kelce himself may have dropped a damning hint about the friendship split by unfollowing Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, on Instagram. Luckily for Swift, she may not have to take the stand after all, since her subpoena was eventually retracted by Baldoni's legal team.

If you or anyone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, or has been a victim of sexual assault, contact the relevant resources below:

• Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
• Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).