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Perez Hilton weighed in on the legal feud involving actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, specifically highlighting singer Taylor Swift’s involvement in the issue. In a video posted on May 11, 2025, Hilton discussed the statement issued by Lively's team after Taylor Swift was subpoenaed in the ongoing case, and criticized Lively's reps for calling Baldoni a "bully".
"Y'all, team Pinocchio really thinks that we believe he's (Justin Baldoni) a bully," Hilton said.
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Previously, on February 5, 2025, Justin Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, stated during TMZ's Two Angry Men podcast that he would not rule out the idea of deposing Swift, a longtime friend of Lively. According to him, "anyone" with reasonable information and who can "provide evidence in this case" would be "deposed" in the case, and Taylor Swift belonged to that category.
Three months later, on May 9, 2025, ABC News reported that Taylor Swift was officially subpoenaed as a witness in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's legal feud by Baldoni’s lawyer. Responding to news of Swift’s subpoena in the legal battle, the Gossip Girl alum’s reps (on Friday, May 9) slammed Baldoni's legal team for involving the singer in the lawsuit.
"The defendants continue to publicly intimidate, bully, shame, and attack women's rights and reputations,including in the past month seeking to strike down for all powerful California victim's rights law, calling it unconstitutional," Lively’s reps said in their statement.
Referring to this statement by Blake Lively’s representatives, Hilton reiterated his belief that Lively’s team was distorting the narrative. He dubbed them "Team Pinocchio", referencing the classic fairy tale character whose nose grew longer every time he lied.
He further added that while Baldoni’s lawyer might be aggressive in his methods, Baldoni himself was not a "bully".
"Listen, perhaps his lawyer, who's also my attorney, is a 'bull', but Baldoni is not a 'bully', I think," Hilton said.
Taylor Swift’s spokesperson criticizes Baldoni’s legal team, says Swift was "not involved" in Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni legal drama
As per an ABC News report dated May 9, 2025, after Taylor Swift was subpoenaed in the ongoing legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, a spokesperson for the singer officially released a statement addressing the matter.
Speaking to Good Morning America, Swift’s spokesperson clarified that the pop icon had no creative or professional role in It Ends With Us, the film at the center of the controversy. The statement also dismissed any insinuation that Swift had insider knowledge or involvement that would be relevant to the legal proceedings.
The spokesperson stated that:
"Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, 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, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history".
In their statement, Swift’s spokesperson also argued that the only "connection" Taylor Swift had to It Ends With Us was her permission for the use of her song, My Tears Ricochet in the film.
Implying that her inclusion in the case was unnecessary and disproportionate, the spokesperson also suggested that the decision to subpoena her was less about uncovering relevant information and more about generating media attention by attaching a globally recognized name to the lawsuit.
"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 by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case," Swift's spokesperson stated.
Adding on to Swift’s spokesperson’s concerns, Lively’s representatives also accused Baldoni’s team of turning a "case of s*xual harassment and retaliation" into "entertainment for the tabloids" by "subpoenaing Taylor Swift" (as per ABC News)
"This is a very serious legal matter, not Barnum & Bailey’s Circus," Lively’s reps said.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been involved in a legal battle since December 2024, when Lively filed s*xual harassment charges, accusing Baldoni of misconduct on the film’s set. Baldoni countersued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane for $400 million, claiming defamation.
Though Taylor Swift was not initially involved, her name surfaced in the suit after Justin Baldoni cited a text from Blake Lively allegedly referring to Swift and Reynolds as her "dragons".
After her record-breaking Eras tour, Taylor Swift has been spending time away from the spotlight with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. The legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is in the pretrial stage, and the trial is scheduled to take place on March 9, 2026.
