TWIST SHOCK: Taylor Swift mentioned twice in Blake Lively’s harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni over issues involving…

The pop superstar is close friends with the actress, who is suing her ‘It Ends with Us’ co-star Baldoni, alleging harassment and that he has launched a smear campaign against her

Blake Lively, Taylor Swift and Justin Baldoni. Photo: Gotham/GC Images; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; John Nacion/Variety via Getty

Taylor Swift and Blake Lively have been close friends for nearly a decade — and now the singer has been named in the actress’s complaint against her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni.

Lively, 37, sued Baldoni, 40, and others, including his public relations team, alleging in a complaint that he waged a campaign to “destroy” her reputation during the film’s press cycle. She also accused Baldoni – who directed the film – of harassment on set, with allegations including him showing her pictures and videos, asking her about her personal life, attempting to add additional intimate scenes to the film that she initially did not consent to, and making unprofessional comments about her weight.

Swift, 35, is mentioned twice in the complaint, specifically in a “scenario planning document,” according to the lawsuit, which was written by Baldoni’s public relations team at TAG PR, led by crisis management specialist Melissa Nathan.

The pop superstar is mentioned in the document in the context of discussing how Lively could be targeted in the press in a negative way.

“The Scenario Planning document states that TAG may also ‘explore stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in [Lively’s] circle, such as Taylor Swift, have been accused of using these tactics to ‘bully’ to get what they want,’” the complaint says.

Taylor Swift and Blake Lively embrace at the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Rob Carr/Getty

The majority shareholder of TAG PR is a company run by Scooter Braun, according to The New York Times. Braun is a talent manager and entrepreneur who famously acquired Swift’s master recordings for $300 million in 2019 and sold them—without her knowledge, she claims—in 2020, forcing the star to re-record her first six albums to own the masters.

Although Baldoni allegedly reviewed the script planning document and texted the film’s producer Jamey Heath that he “didn’t love” it because he felt the plan didn’t have enough “defensiveness,” Swift is mentioned again in a text message allegedly sent by Nathan to Jennifer Abel, a public relations executive.

In the alleged message, Nathan considers the power of Lively’s fan base while discussing a potential social media plan that would help suppress negative content about Baldoni and amplify negative content about Lively, according to the complaint. She notes that because Lively and Swift are close friends, the actress has the support of the pop star’s fans.

“We’ve seen the most innocuous issues become huge because of society or the biggest crisis that doesn’t affect society — you can’t tell at this stage,” Nathan reportedly wrote in a message printed in the complaint. “But, [Lively] has a number of [Swift] fans so we’re going to take it extremely seriously.”

Lively and Swift have been close friends since 2015, and the singer even included the names of Lively’s daughters Betty, 5, James, 10, and Inez, 8, in lyrics on her album Folklore. Lively’s husband, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, recently confirmed to Deadline that Swift is the girls’ godparents (the couple are also parents to a baby boy named Olin).

Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni at the ‘It Ends with Us’ New York Premiere. Gotham / WireImage (2)

It Ends with Us, a big-screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s beloved novel, was released in August. Rumors of a rift among the cast began during the film’s official press tour, when Baldoni did most of his press tour alone, and fans noticed that many of the film’s main actors weren’t following him on Instagram.

Lively’s complaint, which is the precursor to a discrimination lawsuit filed in California, accuses Baldoni of fostering a “hostile work environment that nearly derailed the production” of the film. The actress also alleges that his behavior had an “extreme” “emotional impact” on her, which also affected Reynolds and their four children.

Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, called Lively’s allegations “false, outrageous, and intentionally intended to cause public injury.” He also said her complaint was filed to “repair her negative reputation.”

Freedman also alleges that Lively caused problems on the set of the film, which is now streaming, “threatening not to show up on set, threatening not to promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during its release.”

Meanwhile, Lively said in a statement to The New York Times, “I hope that my legal action will help pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm those who speak out about wrongdoing and help protect others who may be targeted.”