Taylor Swift's Secret Role in Blake Lively's Movie Scandal

It looks like Taylor Swift had the electric touch when it came to casting.

In the recent legal tussle involving Blake Lively and her “It Ends With Us” costar and director Justin Baldoni, I find myself drawn into their ongoing dispute when it was claimed that Lively leveraged her influential connections, specifically her megacelebrity friend Ryan Reynolds, to exert pressure on Baldoni for more creative control in the making of this Colleen Hoover movie adaptation. Now, fresh interviews from cast members have shed light on another intriguing angle where Taylor Swift is rumored to have contributed to the production process of “It Ends With Us.

During an interview, Isabella Ferrer, who portrayed the younger version of Lily Bloom character in the 2024 film, shared that the Grammy-winning actress played a part in assisting her in landing the role.

At the August 6th premiere of “It Ends With Us,” a 25-year-old shared with Extra that she indeed participated in the project. She admitted, with a hint of uncertainty, that she might not be allowed to disclose this information, but she went ahead and did so anyway!

Later on, Ferrer discovered that Swift played a beneficial role during the audition process. This revelation left her utterly amazed, as she struggled to find words to express her feelings.

And Baldoni echoed Ferrer’s comments about Swift helping to cast her part in a separate interview.

He shared with Access Hollywood during an interview on August 7th that he had presented some casting tapes to Blake and Taylor, and their reaction was, “Yes, her!” This account is genuine.

Apart from claiming that Swift was involved in casting, Baldoni additionally alleged in his Jan. 16 lawsuit (obtained by TopMob News) that Lively made a subtle threat via a studio executive suggesting she might reconsider contacting Swift for the use of ‘My Tears Ricochet’ in the trailer if her requirements weren’t fulfilled, which he implied as a “veiled threat”.

TopMob News contacted Swift’s representative for a response regarding the interviews and the accusations in the lawsuit, but have yet to receive a reply.

Furthermore, although Swift hasn’t spoken out about the accusations against him, Lively – who filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in December, claiming sexual harassment and retaliation – rejected Baldoni’s assertions, calling his counterclaim “yet another tactic in the abuser’s playbook.

A woman presents solid proof of sexual harassment and retaliation, but instead of admitting wrongdoing, the offender tries to shift the blame onto the victim. This tactic is often labeled as DARVO by experts – it stands for Deny the allegations, Attack the accuser, and Reverse the roles of Victim and Offender.

They mentioned that the lawsuit was designed to make it difficult for the public to comprehend that their actions were a form of retribution towards sexual harassment accusations.

As for Baldoni, he likewise denies Lively’s accusations, calling them “falsified stories.”

According to Bryan Freedman’s declaration to TopMob News, these assertions are entirely untrue, excessively sensational, and deliberately malicious. The aim appears to be causing public harm and perpetuating a negative storyline in the media.

For a deeper dive into Lively and Baldoni’s ongoing legal battle, keep reading.

Four months following the theater release of the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us,” Blake Lively lodged a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on December 20, as reported by The New York Times.

The complaint, obtained by TopMob News, named Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. as defendants.

In the complaint, Lively claimed that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates initiated a coordinated press and digital campaign in retaliation for her expressing concerns about alleged misconduct on set. She stated that she and other cast and crew members “witnessed invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” by Baldoni and Heath.

Lively further asserted that this alleged campaign against her caused significant harm to both her personally and professionally. The charges listed in the complaint include sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to investigate and address harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, false light invasion of privacy, and interference with prospective economic advantage.

The following day, The New York Times released an article detailing a suspected counterattack smear operation that Baldoni and his colleagues were accused of launching against Lively. The report drew from her CRD complaint, featuring messages from Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), and Nathan (crisis communications specialist) as evidence. The newspaper’s readers could access the related court documents on their website. In response, Lively said to the outlet, “I hope that my legal action sheds light on these underhanded retaliatory maneuvers aimed at harming those who expose misconduct, and offers protection for others potentially targeted.

Upon hearing about Lively’s allegations, I, as a lifestyle expert, find it regrettable that such severe and unequivocally false accusations have been leveled against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives. This appears to be another desperate attempt to improve her own tarnished reputation, which stemmed from her own words and actions during the promotional campaign for the film, as well as interviews and media activities that were publicly observed in real-time and unedited. The internet was then free to generate its opinions based on these unfiltered interactions.

In a statement published on The New York Times website, Bryan Freedman, representing Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, declared these claims as completely false, outrageous, intentionally sensationalized for the purpose of causing public harm, and aimed at perpetuating a narrative in the media.

Furthermore, Freedman defended Wayfarer’s decision to hire a crisis manager, explaining that this was done prior to the movie’s marketing campaign. He later added that the representatives of Wayfarer Studios did not take any proactive measures nor retaliate against these allegations. Instead, they only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and accurate reporting, while also monitoring social activity.

Crucially missing from the selectively presented correspondence is evidence of any proactive measures taken with the media or otherwise; instead, it shows internal planning and private communication among public relations professionals, which is standard practice in the industry.

After an article by The New York Times was published on December 21, William Morris Endeavor (WME) terminated its partnership with Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agency’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, it’s important to note that WME has denied Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband and a client they represent, was the reason for their separation with Baldoni. This claim was made by Baldoni in his lawsuit against The New York Times (more details below). In response to this allegation, WME stated to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1 that “In Baldoni’s filing there is a claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is not true.” It’s worth mentioning that Baldoni’s former representative was neither present at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere, nor did they face any pressure from Reynolds or Lively to drop Baldoni as a client at any point in time.

In the aftermath of Blake Lively’s CRD filing and a New York Times article, various prominent figures expressed their support for Lively’s allegations against Baldoni. Notable among them was the author of ‘It Ends With Us,’ Colleen Hoover.

On Instagram Stories, December 21, Hoover wrote, “Blake Lively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met.” She continued, “Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.”

Similarly, Jenny Slate, who played Ryle’s sister in the series, publicly declared her support for Lively. On December 23, she stated to Today, “As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation.” She added, “Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her.”

Brandon Sklenar, a romantic interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, shared the complaint published on The New York Times’ website and linked out to the outlet, writing, “For the love of God read this.”

Lastly, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn expressed their solidarity with her.

Liz Plank recently shared on Instagram that she is no longer co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast”. She expressed gratitude for her listeners, stating that the show was special due to them. However, she did not specify the reason for her departure. It happened shortly after a complaint against her co-host and associates was made public. Plank emphasized that she remains dedicated to the values they had built together and promised to share more about the situation soon. She also vowed to continue supporting those who speak out against injustice.

Stephanie Jones, who used to be Baldoni’s publicist, and her agency Jonesworks LLC filed a lawsuit against him, his company Wayfarer, Abel (his current publicist), Nathan (a crisis communications specialist), and others in New York on December 24. According to the lawsuit obtained by NBC News, Abel and Nathan secretly conspired for months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, breach contracts, and take away clients. They allegedly coordinated behind Jones’ back to launch a smear campaign against Baldoni’s film co-star, using it as an opportunity to create a rift between Jones and Baldoni, and wrongly accuse Jones for the smear campaign when she had no involvement in it.

Abel, who worked at Jonesworks until last summer according to her LinkedIn profile, is accused of falsely blaming Jones now that her own misconduct is being exposed, and defaming and attacking her in the industry. Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer clients of Jonesworks, allegedly broke their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refused Jones’ attempts to resolve this dispute privately through arbitration.

TopMob News reached out to the defendants for comment.

In a statement given to Variety on December 23, Lively’s legal team revealed they acquired the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents both Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and Wayfarer associates, further clarified that none of his clients were served with a subpoena regarding this matter, and he plans to take legal action against Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s lawyers.

On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times. In the lawsuit, obtained by TopMob News, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract regarding an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign they allegedly conducted against Lively after she voiced concerns about misconduct on set.

The plaintiffs claim the report was untrue and based solely on Lively’s CRD complaint. They deny the accusations and allege that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. The lawsuit states, “Despite its claim to have reviewed these along with other documents, the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”

They also allege “it was Lively, not Plaintiffs, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign,” which she has denied. The New York Times has stated it plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” They added, “The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead. Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.

On the very same day, Lively initiated a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, his company TAG, and Abel in New York. The lawsuit, as per court documents acquired by TopMob News, accuses these defendants of several offenses: sexual harassment, retaliation, neglecting to investigate, prevent, or rectify harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentionally causing emotional distress, negligently causing emotional distress, and invading privacy through false light.

These allegations were initially outlined in the CRD complaint Lively submitted earlier that month. In response to this lawsuit, Baldoni and his associates have filed a suit against The New York Times – which does not name Lively as a defendant. Regarding this, her attorneys stated to TopMob that “the ongoing lawsuit has no bearing on the claims in her CRD and federal complaints.”

They further explained that the basis for Lively’s lawsuit against Wayfarer and others is not true, as it assumes that her administrative complaint was a strategic move to avoid filing a lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer, and that “litigation was never her ultimate goal.” However, they asserted that this perspective on the Wayfarer lawsuit is incorrect, as evidenced by the federal complaint filed by Lively today.

In their legal action against The New York Times, the plaintiffs made it clear that they are not finished with this matter. As indicated in court documents, there are more individuals involved who have acted unjustly, and it is important to note that further lawsuits may follow. In a recent interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s attorney Freedman stated unequivocally that they intend to file a lawsuit against Lively as well.

The news about Baldoni and Lively hasn’t ended there. For example, some social media users have suggested that Reynolds may have teased Baldoni in his movie “Deadpool & Wolverine” through the character Nicepool.

Reynolds has not spoken publicly about these rumors; however, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman shared his opinion on the matter. During an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show (available on YouTube Jan 7), Freedman said: “If your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni’s situation. You take it seriously. You follow proper procedures and don’t make jokes about it.

In their statement on January 7, Ms. Lively’s legal team explained that the ongoing lawsuit against Wayfarer Entertainment in the Southern District of New York is based on substantial allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. They clarified that this is not a dispute stemming from creative differences or a he-said-she-said scenario. Instead, they asserted that Wayfarer and its associates have been engaging in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for standing up for herself and others on set. They also mentioned that since the filing of the lawsuit, there have been further attacks against Ms. Lively.

In the process of addressing these matters through legal channels, they urged everyone to keep in mind that sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in any workplace or industry. They warned against strategies often used to divert attention from such misconduct, like blaming the victim or reversing the roles of victim and offender. They emphasized that these approaches serve to minimize and trivialise serious allegations. Lastly, they pointed out that media statements do not constitute a defense for Ms. Lively’s claims and that they will present their case in court.

As a die-hard fan, I’d rephrase it like this: On January 16th, in New York, Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, Abel the publicist, Nathan the crisis communication specialist, and It Ends With Us Movie LLC took legal action against Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane, and her PR firm Vision PR. The lawsuit, obtained by TopMob News, alleges that all parties are involved in civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy through false light. Specifically, Lively and Reynolds are accused of breaking the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, interfering with contractual relations intentionally or negligently, and leveraging their positions for economic advantage.

The plaintiffs firmly deny Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a counter-attack campaign. Instead, they accuse her of seizing control over It Ends With Us, working in cahoots with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to tarnish the plaintiffs’ reputations in the press after Lively faced criticism for promoting the film. (Lively claims she followed Sony’s marketing plan when promoting the movie.)

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that the defendants collaborated with The New York Times to release a sensational news story that was both damaging and untrue. However, the media outlet maintains its report’s accuracy.

In response to TopMob, Freedman stated, “Either Blake Lively was deceived by her team or she deliberately misrepresented the truth.

As a committed advocate, I’d express it this way: In response to my lawsuit, Lively’s legal team has labeled it as “just another page in the abuser’s handbook.” To TopMob News, they stated, “This situation is all too familiar: A woman presents solid proof of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the offender tries to shift the blame onto the victim. Experts refer to this tactic as DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender.

She also alleged that he responded negatively after she leveled accusations towards him, claiming that Baldoni is attempting to change the conversation by suggesting that Lively took creative control, causing the cast to distance themselves from Mr. Baldoni.

As someone committed to truth-telling, I can assure you that my personal experiences, as well as those of the cast, were not favorable towards Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. Furthermore, it will be demonstrated that Sony entrusted Ms. Lively with overseeing their portion of the film, which they subsequently chose for distribution and achieved great success.

Her team went on to slam Baldoni’s reaction to her allegations of harassment.

In a nutshell, when faced with sexual harassment accusations, they attempted to shift blame onto the victim by implying she welcomed it and was responsible for the situation. Moreover, their explanation pointed fingers at her attire, which they used as an excuse for the incident. However, the lawyers stated that this tactic is desperate and has no basis in refuting the evidence presented in Ms. Lively’s complaint; ultimately, it will not succeed.

In a recent move, Baldoni’s legal team made public unseen footage from the set of “It Ends With Us“, stating that the depicted actions by the actor directly contradict Miss Lively’s portrayal of him.

According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the specific moment depicted was intended to convey the blossoming romance between the characters, as they yearned for physical proximity. It is evident from their actions that both actors were acting appropriately and professionally within the context of the scene, demonstrating mutual respect.

Nevertheless, Lively’s lawyers contend that the video supports, word for word, what Ms. Livery asserted in her lawsuit. They also argue that every second of this incident was spontaneously acted out by Mr. Baldoni without any prior discussion or consent.

The video depicts Ms. Lively pulling back and persistently requesting that the characters converse instead, as shared with TopMob News in a statement. A sense of unease similar to Ms. Lively’s is likely relatable for any woman who has experienced workplace harassment.

In simpler terms, they wrote to the judge managing their case asking for Freedman, who leads Baldoni’s legal team, to be restricted from making public statements during the ongoing court process to prevent any inappropriate behavior.

Online, a seven-minute voice message supposedly sent by Baldoni to Lively during the filming of “It Ends With Us” was made public. In this recording, it seems that Baldoni discussed the movie’s rooftop scene which Lively rewrote and how these changes were reportedly brought up in a meeting with Reynolds and their friend Taylor Swift.

He mentioned to Lively, “It’s fantastic to have friends as imaginative as them, who are also among the world’s most creative individuals. The trio of you is simply incredible, it’s hard to believe!

In the recording, it appears Baldoni also offered an apology to the actress for not responding favorably to her script, expressing, “I made a mistake. Something important for you to understand about me is that I will acknowledge and apologize when I fall short.

A court hearing was scheduled for March 9, 2026, exactly one month after Lively initiated legal action against Baldoni.

2025-02-21 04:18

Taylor Swift’s Secret Role in Blake Lively’s Movie Scandal

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