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A spokesman for Taylor Swift on Friday said that attempts to summon the pop star as a witness to Blake Lively were “designed” to “encourage public interest to derive names” from Justin Bardoni.
TMZ reported that Bardoni’s lawyer, Brian Friedman, issued a subpoena to Swift in a lawsuit that included the 2024 film “It Ending Us.” Friedman did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday evening.
Lively representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Swift team rejected the notion that there is relevant information and should not be involved in legal entanglements.
“Taylor Swift never stepped into the set of this film. She wasn’t involved in the cast or creative decisions. She didn’t win the film, she saw the edits about the film, nor even “it ended with us” a few weeks after it was released.
Swift licensed the music for the film.
“Since her involvement was licensed for the film song, so did 19 other artists, this documentary summon is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbaits instead of focusing on the facts of the case,” the spokesman said.
Break Live. Justin Bardoni. (Getty Images)
The legal battle between Bardoni and Lively began later last year after Lively filed a civil rights complaint against her co-stars and the director, accusing sexual harassment while filming. She also denounced him in retaliation after raising issues regarding his onset behavior. Lively then sued Baldoni, including the film’s production company Wayfarer Studios, claiming that she was engaged in “silence of her and others’ comments in a carefully crafted, coordinated, resourced, retaliatory scheme.”
Bardoni’s lawyers called the allegations “completely false, outrageous, intentionally shameful” and accused him of living engaged in a smear campaign.
In December, Bardoni sued the New York Times in Libel following the publication of a newspaper article detailing Lively’s accusations. The Times, which first reported the complaint, is based on that report. The lawsuit is ongoing.
In January, he also filed a lawsuit against Lively, her husband actor Ryan Reynolds, her rep, Leslie Sloane, and Sloane’s PR company. Bardoni alleges that the parties engaged in honorific losses and ignored contractual claims.
He is seeking $400 million and a ju trial.
The exam is scheduled for March 2026 in New York.
Swift was drawn into headlines regarding the case after Bardoni filed a 179-page lawsuit.
Swift does not have a name for the suit. Except one text message that mentions “Taylor.” In the litigation text, she is called “a friend of a mega-celebrity.”
Baldoni’s team confirmed to NBC News that what Taylor mentioned in the lawsuit was Swift, a longtime friend of Lively.
“If I could see Game of Thrones, I would appreciate that I am Khaleesi and that I just happen to have some dragons like her.” “For better or worse, but usually it gets better, because my dragons protect the people I fight.
NBC News’ Saba Hamedy contributed.
This story first appeared on nbcnews.com. More from NBC News:
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