Taylor Swift has been called to witness in a significant legal dispute stemming from the movie “It Ends With Us,” which stars Blake Lively and Justin Bardoni. Shortly after the announcement, a representative for Swift clarified that the artist had no involvement in the 2024 film beyond licensing her song “My Tears Ricochet,” which appeared in the trailer and was used in a scene.
The spokesman emphasized, “Taylor never visited the film set. She had no role in casting or creative choices, and she wasn’t involved in viewing edits, nor did she watch ‘It Ends With Us’ after its release.” Swift’s name seems to be used to draw public interest, according to the spokesman, who remarked that the summons, which involved other artists, feels like a ploy for media attention rather than a focus on the legal matters at hand.
Representatives for Bardoni and Lively did not respond to requests for comment. The two actors starred in the romance drama, which is adapted from a 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover and premiered in August 2024. They are, it seems, entangled in legal troubles with each other, having filed counter-lawsuits.
In January, Bardoni initiated a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, claiming civil terror and defamation. His suit comes after Lively’s earlier lawsuit in December, where she accused him of sexual harassment during filming. Bardoni asserts that Lively’s accusations were misguided and intended to salvage her reputation following negative press during the film’s promotional events.
To support his argument, Bardoni’s legal team alleged that Lively manipulated the situation, leveraging her friendship with Swift as a means to coerce him during production. Lively reportedly pushed for a rewrite of a key rooftop scene, which Bardoni found concerning. He eventually indicated that they would “see what she came up with.” After their meeting at Lively’s New York City home, Bardoni stated he felt undue pressure from Reynolds and Swift regarding the rewritten scene, suggesting that their fame cast a shadow over his creative process.
In a text exchange, Bardoni expressed gratitude for her revisions, emphasizing the collaborative process while acknowledging that he might have felt different without Swift and Reynolds’ influence. Lively, in response, referred to them as “dragons” who safeguarded her interests.
Bardoni’s lawsuit further posits that he felt overshadowed, arguing that he was up against two of the most powerful figures in the industry. Neither party has shown any intention of settling out of court, and the case is slated to go to trial in March 2026 in New York.
