Taylor Swift No Longer Subpoenaed by Justin Baldoni in Blake Lively Legal Dispute

Justin Baldoni has dropped the document subpoena that was issued to Taylor Swift in his ongoing legal battle with the singer’s friend Blake Lively.

A spokesperson for Lively confirmed the news on Thursday, May 22, saying in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that they are “pleased” Baldoni’s legal team has “withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm.”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,” adds the spokesperson.

“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,” Lively’s rep claimed. “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.”

Reps for Baldoni did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment. A rep for Swift has not commented to PEOPLE.

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After the subpoena was issued earlier this month, a spokesperson for Swift released a statement emphasizing that Swift, 35, had no close connection to the filming of It Ends With Us.

“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,” Swift’s rep said.

“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,” the spokesperson continued.

On May 14, Baldoni’s attorneys also brought forth a bombshell claim in a letter to the judge, alleging they had learned through an anonymous “source” that Lively had threatened to release private texts between her and Swift if the singer did not publicly support her. Lively’s attorney, Mike Gottlieb, slammed the allegation as “categorically false.”

Judge Lewis J. Liman granted a motion on May 15 to strike the letter from the record, calling it “improper” and “irrelevant to any issue before this court.” 

Lively, 37, first sued Baldoni, 41, who was her director and costar in the film, back in December, accusing him of sexual harassment, “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on set, and a retaliatory smear campaign.

Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a countersuit in January alleging defamation and extortion against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicity team.

In his countersuit, Baldoni claimed Swift and Reynolds pressured him into accepting a rewrite by Lively and described an alleged meeting at Lively and Reynolds’ penthouse during which the singer “began praising Lively’s script. Baldoni understood the subtext: he needed to comply with Lively’s direction.”

Baldoni’s lawyers also included an alleged text exchange in which Lively compared herself to Khaleesi from Game of Thrones and referred to her husband and Swift as her “dragons.”

The trial for Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al., which will cover both lawsuits, is scheduled for March 2026.