Blake Lively's absence from Taylor Swift's Super Bowl LIX squad has fueled speculation that the actress's legal battle with Justin Baldoni has strained their friendship.
Sources told TMZ that Swift feels "used" by Lively after Baldoni claimed in his $400 million lawsuit that Lively used Swift to intimidate him at a meeting with her husband Ryan Reynolds about edits she had made to a rooftop scene in their film, "It Ends With Us."
Baldoni alleged that Swift showed up at the meeting and made him feel like he "needed to comply with Blake's direction for the script." Lively had referred to Reynolds and Swift as her "dragons" in text messages to Baldoni, comparing herself to Game of Thrones character Khaleesi.
The source claimed that Swift "resents" Lively for "calling her one of her dragons and leveraging her name" and was "blindsided" by the meeting with Baldoni.
Swift reportedly arrived at Lively's apartment after being told by the actress and had "no idea" that Baldoni would be there. Swift told Baldoni how excited she was to see the movie "because he was her friend's boss," according to the source.
The source also claimed that Swift believes Lively "timed" her meeting with Baldoni so she would arrive before he left and was "baffled" by Lively calling her a "dragon." "It's weird to say that about a friend," they added.
The source further claimed that Swift has learned Lively has been "inappropriately leveraging her name for a long time, like telling a young actress that Taylor 'cast her,' which simply did not happen."
Multiple sources have insisted to Us Weekly that Swift had "no involvement" in the making of "It Ends With Us." "Taylor has always been Blake's friend, but Taylor doesn't have any involvement in the case. She wasn't part of the movie," one insider claimed.
"Taylor was not a producer on the film and had no creative involvement."
Another source pointed out that Swift was on her Eras Tour while the film was shooting in 2023 and 2024. "Taylor never even saw the film or a single scene from it until the movie was in theaters. She is not relevant to the case," they added.
A different source told the outlet that dragging Swift into Lively and Baldoni's legal battle is "unnecessary." "While she and Blake are friends, this case is now a legal matter for the courts to resolve. Dragging Taylor into it is unnecessary and misrepresents what really happened," they said.