Taylor Swift taking a 'step back' from Blake Lively as dramatic legal battle with Justin Baldoni threatens their decade-long friendship

Taylor Swift is taking a step back from her friendship with Blake Lively after feeling like she was used as an 'intimidation tactic' by the actress in a lawsuit she never wanted to be embroiled in.

The singer, 35, was dragged into the explosive legal feud between Lively, 37, and Justin Baldoni, 41, when he claimed his costar used Swift to intimidate him at a meeting with her husband Ryan Reynolds about edits she had made to a rooftop scene in their film, It Ends with Us.

In his $400 million lawsuit, filed earlier this month, Baldoni said Swift showed up and made him feel like he 'needed to comply with Blake's direction for the script'.

Lively later appeared to threaten Baldoni by comparing herself to Game of Thrones character Khaleesi in a series of text messages in which she referred to Reynolds, 48, and her best friend as her 'dragons'.

The ‘uncool and unnecessary’ description was reportedly the final straw for Swift who had never planned to be at the meeting, but arrived at Lively’s New York penthouse to find it was still ongoing.

‘For the time being she is taking a step back from Blake because she doesn’t want to get tangled in this more than she already has – which is far more than she ever needed to be,’ an insider told DailyMail.com.

‘Her friends also think that Blake’s "I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have dragons" text to Justin was uncool and unnecessary because she was essentially used as an intimidation tactic. She was referred to as some kind of pet or possession.

‘Taylor shouldn’t even be involved in this at all. She was only going over to visit Blake and Ryan with the understanding that the meeting would be over.'

Khaleesi, also known as Daenerys Targaryen and Mother of Dragons, is one of the main characters in Game of Thrones, which aired between 2011 to 2019.

She was portrayed as a villain after descending into madness and turning to vengeance due to trauma and loss.

A second source said: ‘Taylor has politely backed away from it all. She is conscious of her own image and hates that she was even mentioned.' 

The decision will no doubt shock fans of the Cruel Summer singer, who has been friends with the former Gossip Girl lead for a decade, with the pair celebrating milestones together and Swift even name dropping Lively’s children in her music.

She appeared to rally around Lively when rumours of rancour between the actress and Baldoni first started bubbling in August.

She was pictured arriving at Swift's Rhode Island property, taking solace at the $17 million, eight bedroom estate alongside her husband Reynolds, to escape the frenzy. 

At the time Lively was being called out for her ‘tone deaf’ marketing, apparently dismissing interview questions about domestic violence – a major theme in the movie – in favour of telling people to grab their ‘florals’ and head to the cinema. 

Others accused her of using the attention to plug her alcohol brand Betty Booze.

Resurfaced interviews showing the actress being 'rude' to reporters also went viral on social media.

Lively and Swift were last pictured together in October on a double date with Deadpool actor Reynolds and Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce in Manhattan. 

The outing came two months before she filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department in which she accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and creating a toxic environment on the set of It Ends with Us.

At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on her legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a smear campaign against her. 

Swift, whose song My Tears Ricochet was featured in the soundtrack, was then pulled into the roller coaster saga when Baldoni fired back with a stinging $400 million counter suit against Lively and Reynolds in which he accused the Hollywood couple of conspiring to trash his reputation.

Baldoni, who is also suing the Times for defamation, claimed Lively hijacked the filming of the movie as he attempted to blow her allegations to smithereens.

In her filing, the actress claimed a meeting was held at her home in January 2024 to address 'a hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production' and that both parties 'discussed in detail the inappropriate conduct' that Lively and other cast and crew experienced at the hands of Baldoni.

But in his suit, Baldoni claimed he was invited over with a Sony executive to discuss her rewrite of a rooftop scene when Reynolds 'launched into enthusiastic praise for [Lively's version]'. They were also joined by her 'mega-celebrity friend to pressure him'.

While Baldoni did not name the famous pal he was referring to, he included screenshots of a later conversation with Lively, and one message showed him mentioning someone named 'Taylor.'

It is during this exchange that Baldoni claims the actress joked that if he ever got 'around to watching Game of Thrones' that he would 'appreciate that' she is Khaleesi.

'And like her, I happen to have a few dragons,' she allegedly wrote. 'For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. you will too, I can promise you.' 

He also claims Reynolds 'aggressively' accused him of making offensive comments as well as 'fat shaming' her. 

It Ends with Us was a box-office hit, earning $351 million worldwide despite a $25 million budget.