Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s legal drama is headed to court in 2026, and A-list stars such as Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds could find themselves in the hot seat.
Anyone who witnessed something “that goes to the heart of either lawsuit” might be “compelled” to testify, legal experts told Fox News Digital. Reynolds is named as a defendant in Baldoni’s lawsuit alongside his wife, while Swift is mentioned in the filing. Baldoni’s lawsuit followed Lively’s own, where she accused the actor of sexual harassment while filming “It Ends with Us.” However, Baldoni insisted Lively “falsely” accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation following the fallout around the movie’s press tour after she took control of the film.
“According to Justin Baldoni’s complaint, [Taylor Swift] may have been present for conversation where Baldoni alleges Lively was pressuring him to accept her re-writes of a particular scene,” Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn explained.
BLAKE LIVELY VS JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW
“And, Lively, in the now infamous text released by Baldoni, has sparked widespread speculation she was referring to Taylor Swift when she told Baldoni she had ‘dragons’ protecting her. Not sure how well ‘Subpoenaed Dragon’ would do as a song title, but given the lawfare that’s going on between the two parties, we may be headed in that direction.”
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Baldoni, Lively, Reynolds and Swift for comment.
Baldoni mentioned Swift in the lawsuit while attempting to show Lively taking control of the film set. According to the “Jane the Virgin” star, Lively rewrote the rooftop scene from the film and allegedly used her friendship with Swift to threaten him.
“Later, Baldoni felt obliged to text Lively to say that he had liked her pages and hadn’t needed Reynolds and her megacelebrity friend to pressure him,” the complaint said.
“… 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 [emoji] You really are a talent across the board. Really excited nd [sic] grateful to do this together,” Baldoni’s text read, according to the lawsuit.
Lively shared a lengthy response, in which she seemingly referred to Swift and Reynolds as “dragons” who protect her. “Both Ryan and [redacted] have established themselves as absolute titans as writers and storytellers outside of their primary gig – just singing or just acting or [redacted] just directing. I’m so lucky to have them as creative barometers,” Lively’s text, included in the complaint, read. “But also to have them as people who prop me up and make sure I’m seen for all I can, and do offer. Because they know firsthand all I contribute. They also know I’m not always as good at making sure I’m seen and utilized for fear of threatening egos, or fear of affecting the ease of the process. They don’t give a s— about that. And because of that, everyone listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm. So I guess I have to stop worrying about people liking me.”
BLAKE LIVELY AND JUSTIN BALDONI LAWSUIT: MESSAGES EXPOSE ALLEGED LIES, THREATS AND INTIMATE SECRETS
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Reynolds is also named throughout the lawsuit and allegedly played a role in many of the allegations lobbed at Lively by Baldoni. It was Reynolds and Lively who threatened Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to apologize with a pre-written statement through a Sony executive, according to the actor’s complaint.
“Lively could not tolerate her publicly tainted image for even a moment, and further could not accept that it was entirely of her own making. She needed a scapegoat. And rather than admit and take accountability for her own mishaps, she chose to blame the Wayfarer Parties, in a malicious and unforgivably public manner,” the opening of the lawsuit read. “When she and Reynolds could not force Baldoni and Wayfarer to read a statement she and her representatives prepared, extorting them to ‘take accountability’ in defense of Lively’s actions, she lay in wait for months, preparing to publicly attack Baldoni by falsely claiming that he had sexually harassed her.
“The same falsified stories she had calculatingly devised and used throughout the production of this film in order to take control were now being used publicly to destroy Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties.”
WATCH: JUSTIN BALDONI’S LAWYERS ‘HAVE DONE A MASTERFUL JOB CHANGING THE NARRATIVE’ IN BLAKE LIVELY CASE, EXPERT SAYS
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Other celebrities taking the stand in the “he said/she said” case is “certainly possible” if they have “first-hand information” that speaks to the truth or falsity of claims made by Baldoni or Lively, Brian Stewart, litigation attorney at Parker & McConkie, explained to Fox News Digital. However, the cast and crew might be “the most useful witnesses.”
“It seems very likely that there will be members of the cast and crew that directly observed Baldoni’s behavior on set and his interactions with Lively,” Stewart noted. “If there are cast and crew who were present, heard what was said, and saw how Baldoni treated Lively on set, they are almost certainly going to be called as witnesses. The cast and crew may end up being the most useful witnesses if they appear to be more independent and less biased than the parties making the claims.”
WATCH: THE LEGAL BATTLE BETWEEN BLAKE LIVELY, JUSTIN BALDONI WILL LIKELY GET ‘UGLIER,’ ATTORNEY SAYS
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Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer are among those who co-star in “It Ends with Us.”
Both Sklenar and Slate have shared support for Lively after the “Gossip Girl” star first filed her lawsuit against Baldoni. “As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation,” Slate said in a statement to the “Today” show.
“Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her.”
