Justin Baldoni dropped his subpoena against Taylor Swift Thursday in his ongoing legal battle with “It Ends With Us” star Blake Lively, TheWrap has learned.
A spokesperson for Lively confirmed the news in a statement to TheWrap, saying that they were “pleased” with the “It Ends With Us” director and star’s decision to end his “harassing” probe into 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,” the spokesperson said.
“The Baldoni and Wayfarer team have tried to put Taylor Swift, a woman who has been an inspiration for tens of millions across the globe, at the center of this case since day one,” the statement continued. “Exploiting Taylor Swift’s celebrity was the original plan in Melissa Nathan’s scenario planning document, and it continues to this day. Faced with having to justify themselves in federal court, they folded. At some point they will run out of distractions from the actual claims of sexual harassment and retaliation they are facing.”
Representatives for Baldoni did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. His decision to drop the probe came three days after Lively filed for court sanctions against him and his team, citing the “willfully improper” accusation that they extorted Swift for public support.
The actor-director-producer’s legal team subpoenaed the pop star earlier this month, claiming that there was necessary information she had in relation to his opposing lawsuits with Lively, her longtime friend. The subpoena was quickly denounced May 9 by Swift’s team, who argued that the singer’s only involvement in the making of “It Ends With Us” was allowing one of her songs to be used in the film.
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman then advocated for Swift’s subpoena in a May 14 letter to Judge Lewis Liman, alleging that Lively had been extorting the singer-songewriter for public support as she sued her director and co-star for sexual harassment and retaliation and Baldoni countersued her, her husband Ryan Reynolds and the New York Times for defamation.
Lively’s attorney Mike Gottleib immediately called the extortion accusation “categorically false,” adding, “We unequivocally deny all of these so-called allegations, which are cowardly sourced to supposed anonymous sources, and completely untethered from reality.” He filed a motion to strike the related letter from the court’s docket, which was granted by Liman on May 15.
“It is irrelevant to any issue before this Court and does not request any action from this Court … The sole purpose of the Letter is to ‘promote public scandal’ by advancing inflammatory accusations, on information and belief, against Lively and her counsel,” Liman wrote in his ruling.
Baldoni and Lively are currently expected to hash it out in court with their trial scheduled for March 9, 2026.
