Taylor Swift will be deposed in the sprawling legal battle over alleged sexual harassment and public relations maneuvering involving the filming It Ends With Us, according to court documents filed by Justin Baldoni‘s lawyers.
Blake Lively previously identified Swift as a person in her orbit would have knowledge about discussions regarding working conditions on the set of the movie, produced by Wayfarer Studios. Since then, Baldoni has pushed to bring the singer into the dueling lawsuits. Lively’s lawyers argued on Friday that the move is intended to fuel Baldoni’s media strategy and indicated skepticism around whether the deposition will actually happen.
“In this latest effort, the Wayfarer defendants assert— though notably, without evidence — that Ms. Swift has supposedly ‘agreed’ to sit for a deposition sometime between October 20-25,” wrote Michael Gottlieb, a lawyer for Lively, in the filing.
At the top of the list of issues Swift will likely be asked about if she is deposed: Discussions she had with Blake Lively regarding working conditions on the set of the movie, as well as her alleged involvement with the actress pressuring Baldoni to change a rooftop scene at the beginning of the film.
The filing comes as both sides finish discovery. Wayfarer cofounder Steve Sarowitz, CEO Jamey Heath and Baldoni will be deposed later this month. A trial is scheduled to start in March in federal court in New York.
Swift was previously subpoenaed but the filing was later withdrawn. Lawyers for Lively take issue with Baldoni’s legal team seeking to extend discovery to depose the singer without notifying the court that it had served the singer another subpoena. They add that Baldoni and Wayfarer “do not even attempt to explain their need for this deposition.”
Swift’s involvement in the legal battle relates, in part, to suggestions from Lively that Baldoni altered a rooftop scene at the beginning of the film. Lively invited the director to her New York City home in 2023 to discuss the script changes.
Once there, Baldoni was surprised to see Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and close friend, Swift, according to his lawsuit, which cites communications that include the name “Taylor.” The megastars praise Lively’s version of the scene, pressuring Baldoni to accept the revisions, he alleged.
In a text, Lively refers to Reynolds and Swift as her “dragons.” The message reads, “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.”
Baldoni was supportive of the changes. “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),” he wrote with a wink emoji. “You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to do this together.”
Tensions over the rewrite lead Baldoni to send Lively a six-minute-plus voice message at 2 a.m. to apologize for anything he did to upset her, according to the complaint. At the end of the recording, Baldoni says, “You probably have kids all over you and a baby on your boob, and you’re listening to me ramble at 2 in the morning.”
A spokesperson for Swift, who didn’t respond to a request for comment, previously stated that Baldoni’s move to depose the singer is intended to “draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.” The rep, who noted that the only connection the singer has with the film is permitting the use of “My Tears Ricochet,” added “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.”