Originally appeared on E! Online.
Blake Lively would very much like Taylor Swift to be excluded from this narrative, too.
Days after the “Fortnight” singer’s rep slammed her involvement in her pal’s ongoing legal battle with “It Ends With Us” director Justin Baldoni, the Gossip Girl alum’s rep also shared similar sentiments.
“This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey’s Circus,” Lively’s rep said in a statement to People May 10. “The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame and attack women’s rights and reputations.”
The statement noted Swift’s involvement, describing her as “a woman who has given a voice to millions all over the world,” adds to turning the serious legal battle into “entertainment for the tabloids.”
Lively’s rep also slammed Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman for previously telling People Baldoni and Lively’s testimonies could “count” by selling tickets to a deposition at Madison Square Garden and “donate every dollar to organizations helping victims of domestic abuse.”
READ: Taylor Swift’s Rep Reacts to Subpoena in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Legal Battle
As the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” star’s rep emphasized, “The disturbing actions by a billionaire, men who made their careers as ‘female allies’ and their team continue to show their true colors.”
E! News has reached out to reps for Lively and Freedman but has not yet heard back.
The statement from Lively’s rep comes just days after Swift—who Baldoni previously alleged had assisted in casting Isabella Ferrer as young Lily in It Ends With Us—was officially subpoenaed in the case.
“Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie,” Swift’s rep said in a statement to E! News shortly after the news of her subpoena. “She was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film.”
Indeed, the 35-year-old’s rep noted that her involvement only went so far as to loan her song “My Tears Ricochet” for the trailer and film and did not even see the film until “weeks” after its public release in August 2024.
“Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest,” the statement added, “by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
Swift’s involvement only scratches the surface of the ongoing battle between Baldoni and Lively.
PHOTOS: Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are facing off in several legal battles. The “Gossip Girl” alum filed a lawsuit against her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director in December, accusing him of an alleged smear campaign and allegedly sexually harassing her.
