Blake Lively Drops Emotional Distress Claims Against Justin Baldoni Amid Ongoing Legal Hell
Well, well, well — the queen of clean exits has done it again. Taylor Swift is officially off the hook in the messy legal saga between her longtime BFF Blake Lively and It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni. On May 22, 2025, Baldoni’s legal team dramatically withdrew the subpoena they’d hurled at Swift and her attorneys.
Why? A federal judge basically called the whole thing irrelevant and warned Baldoni’s camp to stop wasting the court’s time. To top it off, Swift’s team had already handed over what was needed — no cloak-and-dagger Taylor here. It was giving “Don’t drag me into your chaos,” and clearly, the court agreed.
But let’s rewind. Baldoni’s lawyers had accused Lively of weaponizing her friendship with Taylor to influence decisions on set — calling her and Ryan Reynolds her “dragons” in texts. They claimed Blake even tried to strong-arm Swift into making public statements, allegedly threatening to leak personal messages if she didn’t fall in line.
Swift’s team clapped back hard, calling the entire subpoena a transparent stunt to capitalize on her celebrity clout. And honestly? It tracked. Taylor’s actual involvement? She simply licensed “My Tears Ricochet” for the soundtrack — just like 19 other artists did. No casting calls, no script notes, no secret screenings. She didn’t even screen the film until weeks after it dropped. Baldoni’s narrative? A full-on Swiftie fever dream.
Of course, even when Taylor exits stage left, the drama doesn’t stop. Sources say this whole legal mess put a serious chill on her friendship with Lively. Word is: Swift ignored Blake’s attempts to smooth things over — we’re talking texts, voicemails, emails, the works.
And things may have gone nuclear behind the scenes: Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, allegedly unfollowed Reynolds on social media. Spite? Statement? Who knows — but it’s juicy. I
Insiders claim the two blondes are tentatively rebuilding their bond. They may be “on good terms,” but that rock-solid ride-or-die friendship? It’s looking a tad cracked. As the Lively-Baldoni lawsuit barrels toward its 2026 trial, one thing’s for sure: Swift’s shaking this drama off — but the internet won’t let it die quietly.
The latest tea about the high-profile legal feud between Lively and Baldoni, Lively has withdrawn her claims of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress against her It Ends With Us co-star and director.
The decision, filed on May 30, 2025, comes after Baldoni’s legal team sought access to Lively’s medical and therapy records to substantiate her claims of severe emotional and psychological harm.
Lively’s attorneys stated that the dismissal aims to streamline the case and does not negate her broader allegations. “Ms. Lively has offered to dismiss those claims because they are no longer necessary, and she will continue to pursue emotional distress damages through other claims in her lawsuit, including sexual harassment and retaliation,” her lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.
The legal battle began in December 2024 when Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us and that his associates launched a coordinated effort to discredit her, which included hiring a crisis management team to plant negative stories and manipulate social media narratives against her.
According to the complaint, Lively accused Baldoni of improvising intimate scenes without her consent, pressuring her to simulate full nudity, and making inappropriate comments. Additionally, Lively’s legal action named multiple defendants, including Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and PR representatives Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, alleging that they engaged in a “multi-tiered plan” to retaliate against her for reporting the misconduct.
In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, … accusing them of defamation, civil extortion … invasion of privacy. Baldoni’s legal team argued that Lively’s withdrawal of the emotional distress claims was an attempt to avoid producing medical records during the discovery process. They requested that the claims be dismissed with prejudice to prevent re-filing.
Despite ditching the emotional distress drama, Lively’s still dragging this circus to court in March 2026. And while she and Baldoni are doing their worst to turn the courtroom into a soap opera, Taylor’s out here living her best life — untouched, unbothered, miles above the mess.
