Has Blake Lively's Justin Baldoni lawsuit strained her friendship with Taylor Swift?
New York, New York - Taylor Swift is standing by her longtime pal Blake Lively as the Gossip Girl star continues her legal battle against Justin Baldoni.
According to a new report from Page Six, insiders have confirmed that the 35-year-old pop star is still close with Lively, despite recent rumors that she had sought to distance herself from the 37-year-old actor.
Additional sources reiterated to Us Weekly on Wednesday, "There's no truth that this has hurt their relationship."
"They are still close friends," the insider added.
In December, Lively sued her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging he sexually harassed her and, with the help of a crisis PR team, conducted an online smear campaign to discredit her.
Swift was mentioned in the lawsuit, as text messages revealed that Baldoni's team argued online criticism of the Grammy winner supposedly "weaponizing feminism" could be a potential accusation to make against Lively in the alleged smear campaign.
When Baldoni sued Lively – as well as her husband and publicist – earlier this month, Swift was mentioned again as the filmmaker detailed how she was present when Lively shared script rewrites with him for a pivotal scene in the movie.
Baldoni claimed that Swift's presence added unnecessary pressure to accept Lively's changes, but he later apologized for dismissing the rewrites in a recently released 2 AM voice message sent to Lively.
Understanding Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal dispute
Lively has made numerous disturbing allegations against Baldoni – who both directed and co-starred in It Ends With Us – including claims that he refused to keep the set closed when Lively was doing nude scenes, as is consistent with standard industry protections, and even hired a close friend of his to act in one such scene rather than a local actor.
Baldoni has since sued The New York Times for their story detailing her claims, alleging fraud and breach of an implied contract.
The outlet has fired back at the suit, affirming they "meticulously and responsibly" reported on the case and noted that his team "have not pointed to a single error" in the story.
In his new suit against Lively, the Jane the Virgin actor accused her of manipulation in order to gain creative control of the film. Both stars reportedly commissioned their own cuts of It Ends With Us, with Lively's becoming the final product.
Lively's team has fiercely defended her against Baldoni's claims and noted that his tactics fall in line with DARVO – an acronym meaning deny, attack, and reverse victim offender – which is often used by abusers to discredit their accusers and, in turn, paint them as the true victim.
Cover photo: Collage: KENA BETANCUR / AFP & Michael TRAN / AFP