EXCLUSIVETaylor Swift’s reaction to Justin Baldoni’s claim that Blake Lively enlisted her to ‘pressure’ him revealed

Taylor Swift was left ‘perplexed’ by Justin Baldoni’s claim that Blake Lively enlisted her to ‘pressure’ him in his explosive new lawsuit.

Last month, Blake, 37, accused Justin, 40, of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment while filming the movie It Ends With Us in a complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department.

Earlier this week, the actor – who along with starring in the film, also directed it -responded by filing an incendiary $400 million counter suit against the Gossip Girl alum, in which he made his own shocking retorts.

Most notable was his allegation that Blake got her famous pal Taylor, 35, involved after he told her that he wasn’t sure he would use some of the changes she had made to the script of the movie.

Justin alleged that the singer – who was not directly named in the lawsuit but whose name was included in text screenshots to accompany his claims – made him feel like he ‘needed to comply with Blake’s direction for the script’ after she showed up at a meeting they were having and began to excessively ‘praise’ her writing.

Now, a source close to the Cruel Summer songstress, 35, has revealed she is ‘confused’ at being dragged into his suit as her ‘connection to Blake’ is one of ‘friendship’.

Last month, Blake, 37, accused Justin, 40, (pictured on set) of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment while filming the movie It Ends With Us in a complaint

‘Taylor is proud of the film because her music was featured in it, which gave her a sense of involvement, though she wasn’t fully aware of the extent of the project’s developments,’ they said.

‘She is confused by the claims in the suit, as her connection to Blake is purely a friendship, with no interest in influencing or controlling Blake’s projects.’

The source insisted that Taylor did not purposely plan to be there during the meeting.

Instead, they said she was simply coming over to hang out with her pal but arrived while the meeting – which was supposed to have been wrapped up – was still going.

‘She finds Justin’s interpretation of the encounter perplexing, and those close to her suspect she’s being drawn into the situation as a means to target Blake,’ the insider continued.

‘This was the first time that Taylor ever met Justin. She had no idea who he was and Taylor was simply being polite. She was polite to him as she is to everyone she meets.’

In documents filed on Thursday, Justin’s lawyer claimed Blake ‘asked if she could “take a pass” at writing’ the part of the flick that showed their two characters meeting on a rooftop near the start of the film.

His attorney noted that Justin ‘agreed to take a look’ at her version of the ‘pivotal scene,’ but was ‘hesitant’ to use it because it ‘dramatically differed from what had been written originally.’

Earlier this week, the actor, 40, responded by filing a $400 million counter suit against the Gossip Girl alum, 37, in which he made his own shocking retorts to her previous claims

Most notable was his allegation that Blake got her pal Taylor (pictured  in 2024) involved after he told her that he wasn’t sure he would use some rewrites she made to the script

‘He thanked [Blake] for her passion and diplomatically told her that the scene would likely end up being somewhere between the original version and [Blake’s] version,’ the documents continued. 

Blake then allegedly invited Justin over to her house to discuss her rewrite, where her husband, Ryan Reynolds, ‘launched into enthusiastic praise for [Blake’s version of the scene],’ according to the lawsuit. 

‘Hours later, as the meeting was ending, a famous, and famously close, friend of [Ryan and Blake], walked into the room and similarly began praising [Blake’s] script,’ the documents read.

‘[Justin] understood the subtext: he needed to comply with [Blake’s] direction for the script.’

Justin’s lawyer said he texted Blake afterwards ‘to say that he had liked her pages and hadn’t needed [Ryan] and her mega-celebrity friend to pressure him.’

While Justin did not name the celebrity pal he was referring to in the court documents, he included screenshots of his and Blake’s text conversations, and one message showed him mentioning someone named Taylor.

‘Was working on rooftop scene today, I really love what you did. It really does [help] a lot,’ he wrote in the message.

‘Makes it so much more fun and interesting. And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor.’

They explained that she is ‘confused’ by her involvement in his suit as her ‘connection to Blake’ is purely one of ‘friendship’ (pictured in September 2023)

The source insisted that Taylor did not purposely plan to be there during Blake and Justin’s meeting but was coming over to hang out with her pal and got there while it was still going on

DailyMail.com has reached out to Taylor’s representative for comment.

The documents also included a message sent from the Gossip Girl alum to Justin that read: ‘[Ryan and the unnamed celebrity friend] are my most trusted partners and the people I go to first with anything creative I touch.

‘And I’m the person they each go to first. That reciprocal creativity and support has been one of my life’s greatest and most fulfilling gifts.

‘When they loved and signed off on the [script re-writes I did], I felt good to send them to you. They asked what you thought specifically after.

‘They checked in so many times. I told them that you laughed a bunch and said it’s probably a blend but you appreciate my passion so much, which of course didn’t feel great for me. Or them. To have my passion be praised instead of any specific contribution.’ 

In her message, Blake said that Ryan and her unnamed celebrity friend ‘wanted her and Justin to see how they felt about the work because they had been by her side for far too many experiences she was she was overlooked.’ 

‘Both Ryan and [blanked out name] have established themselves as absolute titans as writers and storytellers outside of their primary gig,’ the message continued.

‘I’m so lucky to have them as creative barometers. But also to have them as people who prop me up and make sure I’m seen for all I can do and do offer.

Justin (pictured in the film with Blake) claimed in his lawsuit that the singer made him feel like he ‘needed to comply with Blake’s direction for the script’ after she showed up at a meeting

He claimed that Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds ‘launched into enthusiastic praise for [Blake’s writing’ at the meeting (Blake and Ryan pictured in August)

‘They know firsthand all I contribute. They also know I’m not always as good at making sure I’m seen and utilized for fear of threatening egos, or fear of affecting the ease of the process. 

‘They don’t give a s**t about that. And because of that, everyone listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm.’

‘The message could not have been clearer. [Justin] was not just dealing with [Blake],’ the lawsuit added. 

‘He was also facing … two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.’ 

The lawsuit alleged that Blake then ‘began altering the script daily’ after that with the frequency of her revisions leaving producers, the director and the studio ‘alarmed’ and fearing that it could ‘disrupt the carefully planned production schedule’.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, Justin’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said the lawsuit was based on an ‘overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media’. 

He added: ‘Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth… Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie.’

In response to Justin’s lawsuit, Blake’s legal team also issued a furious statement to DailyMail.com, describing his filing as ‘another chapter in the abuser playbook’.

The lawsuit added: ‘Hours later, as the meeting was ending, a famous, and famously close, friend of [Ryan and Blake], walked into the room and similarly began praising [Blake’s] script’ 

‘This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,’ they said. 

‘Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.

‘They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni.’

Blake’s attorneys added: ‘The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. 

‘The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony’s cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success.

‘Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing.

‘In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.’

Blake made a series of allegations against Justin in her 80-page complaint, including that he had barged into her trailer while she was breastfeeding her child and ‘routinely degraded [her] by finding back channel ways of criticising her body and weight.’

While Justin did not name the celebrity pal he was referring to in the court documents, he included screenshots of his and Blake’s text conversations, and one message showed him mentioning someone named Taylor

The documents stated: ‘[Justin] understood the subtext: he needed to comply with [Blake’s] direction for the script.’ He and Blake are seen in the flick 

Her lawyers also claimed that Justin and his team retaliated against her harassment complaints by ‘battering her image, harming her businesses, and causing her and her family severe emotional harm.’ 

Justin has denied all of the claims against him in Blake’s legal filing. 

The actor and director broke his silence on Friday telling TMZ that he would make it through this ‘tough time’ thanks to his ‘amazing friends and family.’

He concluded by adding that his ‘faith’ was essential to making it through his ongoing conflict with Blake and Ryan.